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Climate targets in mobility – quo vadis?
- MOTORENSYMPOSIUM
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Diverging economic blocs around the world are pursuing different strategies
Consensus in sight for the further development of the global automotive industry
Despite the global climate debate, ‘Drill baby drill’ seems to be the slogan of the USA and other NAFTA countries; in other words, it’s full steam ahead with gasoline and diesel over there, while ‘over here’ the EU cannot agree on whether ‘electric only’ or technology neutrality is the right way forward. Against this backdrop of divergence, the elite of the global automotive industry will meet scientists, developers and suppliers from around the world at the 47th International Vienna Motor Symposium (https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/en/) from 22 to 24 April 2026. Host, Prof. Bernhard Geringer (TU Vienna, Austrian Society for Automotive Engineering) does see one area of consensus in a ‘technology-neutral balance’ between green technologies (BEV, hybrid drives etc) and traditional engines fuelled by sustainable fuels. Achieving this will depend on region, availability of raw materials and application. ’While Asia, for example, with China, Japan, India and Korea, stands for technological openness, MERCOSUR is all about pure bioenergy.’
The Vienna International Motor Symposium, conceived 47 years ago, has long been recognised as one of the most international conferences in the sector and this year is no exception. This year’s Symposium will feature a total of around 100 presentations and speakers from scientists, developers and suppliers from over 20 countries, including Brazil, China, Germany, France, India, Italy, Japan, Canada, Korea, Sweden and Turkey. Innovation will be a key area of focus, with efficient hybrids, new electric drives (BEVs), components such as wheel hub motors in series production, and exciting high-performance hybrids with even V8 or V12 base engines being showcased.
Four prominent figures from the international automotive industry will open the Symposium: Prof. Stefan Pischinger, Head of the Institute for Thermodynamics of Mobile Energy Conversion Systems at Aachen University of Technology and Chairman of the Board of Engineering company FEV, will give a presentation on ‘The future of drive systems against the backdrop of CO2 fleet targets’. Matthias Zink, Member of the Executive Board for Powertrain & Chassis at Schaeffler AG and President of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, CLEPA, will complement this with a talk on ‘Europe at a crossroads – turning global challenges into opportunities’. Ruiping Wang, CEO of the Aurobay Technologies Division, which belongs to the Chinese-European automotive supplier group Horse Powertrain, will present the global perspective of a major hybrid engine and transmission supplier. She will also talk about the need for hybrid systems and green fuels to accelerate electrification.
Representing all truck manufacturers, Niklas Klingenberg, CEO of the TRATON Group (Scania, MAN and VW), will speak about the ‘Future of powertrains in a changing global environment’.
HIGHLIGHTS
Hybrid petrol engine with 48% efficiency – breakthrough for range extenders
Further highlights of the 47th International Vienna Motor Symposium: Austrian technology group AVL, in collaboration with Chinese car manufacturer Chery, will unveil a new hybrid petrol engine that achieves 48 per cent efficiency in series production, marking a ‘breakthrough for range extenders’.
Toyota will introduce a hybrid innovation of tomorrow, a ‘next-generation hybrid system for plug-in hybrid vehicles’. VW AG is also presenting its latest hybrid generation, and BMW will announce details of its new ‘GEN6’ battery-electric drive for the first time.
Petrol and diesel
The Indian Tata Group will present its new family of 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engines, Audi will unveil a new V6 TDI that combines modern diesel engine technology with a powerful hybrid powertrain, and Mercedes presents the ‘evolution of the new inline six-cylinder diesel engine’, the OM 656 Evo.
Lamborghini, Mahle and Porsche with hybridised power
An additional focus this year will be on 2026 high-performance drives from Porsche, Mahle and Lamborghini: Porsche will be presenting a hybridised bi-turbo six-cylinder boxer engine for the new 911 Turbo S for the first time. Under the motto ‘From vision to speed’, Mahle will be coming to Vienna with a ‘V12 hybrid powertrain for ultimate performance in a hypercar’, and Lamborghini will also be presenting its new high-performance hybrid for the Temerario GT3 super sports car.
Innovations in hydrogen and software-defined technology
In the hydrogen combustion engines section, US manufacturer Cummins will present a hydrogen combustion engine for extremely demanding applications (‘heavy duty’), while China's FAW Group (First Automotive Works) will present hydrogen technology for decarbonising heavy commercial vehicles, and AVL, in cooperation with Scania, will showcase its new H2 HPDI system for ‘high-pressure direct injection of hydrogen as a pioneer for zero emissions and 60 per cent efficiency’!
AVL is also bringing an innovation to Vienna in the field of software-defined vehicles (SDV): Copper Car, an extremely fast and informative software regression test for the high-voltage system of electric vehicles.
Philippe Krief, CEO of Société des Automobiles Alpine-Renault, will talk about how to build a ‘genuine electric sports car’. Geoffrey Bouqout, Chief Technical Officer at Audi, will conclude by considering ‘AI as the driving force behind transformation in the automotive industry.’
Visitors to the 47th International Vienna Motor Symposium can register at https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/en/registration from January 14th 2026.
Further details about the programme can be found here: https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/en/programme, Further information and photos here: https://www.melzer-pr.com/newsroom/categories/motorensymposium
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For further information, visit: https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/ ; https://oevk.at/ and https://www.melzer-pr.com/motorensymposium
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