With a total of 1.361 million vehicles sold in 2019, Geely Auto retains its position as the bestselling Chinese brand for a third consecutive year. The achievement was helped by strong December sales which saw a 39.3% increase year-on-year to 130,036 units. The total volume includes sales of Lynk & Co vehicles sold by the Group’s 50%-owned joint venture).
During 2019, sales of Geely’s New Energy Vehicles increased significantly with total sales of 113,067 units, a year-on-year increase of 68.6%, becoming a new driving force for the carmaker’s growth. A total of 57,991 vehicles were exported in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 110.6% which suggests that Geely Auto is accelerating its expansion in overseas markets.
Geely grew as domestic market declined
Geely’s growth can be considered impressive when seen in the context of the dual pressure of a global economic downturn and adjustment in the automotive industry. As China’s domestic auto market declined sharply in 2019, Geely Auto actively strengthened its global competitiveness. An example was Geely Auto’s Belarus joint venture plant which saw its 20,000th vehicle produced.
The Geely Atlas SUV is produced in Russia at a joint-venture factory.
A notable development during the year was the launch of a new high-end pure electric brand called Geometry. This is part of a 3-prong product development strategy through Geely Auto, Lynk & Co, and Geometry. The product matrix of these brands has continued to be upgraded in the direction of high quality, high tech, high value.
One of the models in the Lynk & Co range.Geely has also launched the Geometry brand as a pure electric brand.
Looking ahead in 2020
In 2020, Geely Auto says it will continue to implement its development strategy with stability as a focus and has set the annual target for 1.41 million units, 3.6% higher than for 2019. The company sees this year as a key year to advance its brand and technology with 6 new products to be launched, including the second BMA architecture-based SUV from Geely Auto, the Icon. Other models known to be in the pipeline are the first mid-size SUV from Geely Auto (codenamed VX11), a new coupe SUV based on the CMA architecture, the Lynk & Co 05, and G13, the codename for the second pure electric model from Geometry.
Geely ICON to be launched this year.
“The global automotive market is facing an unprecedented change not seen in over a century. Challenges and opportunities exist side by side. With the market as the battlefield, Geely Auto will take user demand as a guide, products as our core, and market share as our goal. We will adhere to a high-quality development strategy, maintain our footing on the uncertain road, compete on technology and brand, accelerate our global expansion, push Chinese manufacturing up the global value chain, and raise the level of Chinese auto brand in the world,” said An Conghui, President of Geely Holding Group, CEO and President of Geely Auto Group.
While most other carmakers are still collecting and finalising their 2019 sales data, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has already finished its homework and can announce that its total sales for the year have no equal in the company’s 116-year history.
A total of 5,152 cars and SUVs were delivered to customers in over 50 countries around the world, an increase of 25% on the previous high set in 2018. With these historic results, Rolls-Royce continues to make a meaningful contribution to the overall performance of its shareholder, the BMW Group.
Commenting on the results, Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “This performance is of an altogether different magnitude to any previous year’s sales success. While we celebrate these remarkable results, we are conscious of our key promise to our customers, to keep our brand rare and exclusive. We are pleased and proud to have delivered growth of 25% in 2019. Worldwide demand last year for our Cullinan SUV has driven this success and is expected to stabilise in 2020. It is a ringing testament to the quality and integrity of our products, the faith and passion of our customers and, above all, the skill, dedication and determination of our exceptional team at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood and around the world and our dedicated global dealer network.”
Sales growth worldwide
Sales grew across all regions during the year, driven by strong customer demand for all the models. The company reported significant sales growth in every one of its key global markets, with North America retaining top status (around a third of global sales), followed by China and Europe (including UK).
Individual countries that achieved record sales results included Russia, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Qatar and Korea. The deliveries were made through a global network of 135 dealerships.
A Rolls-Royce showroom in the Philippines.
The Phantom retained its rightful place as the company’s pinnacle product, with the Dawn and Wraith continuing to dominate their respective sectors. The new Cullinan SUV gave Rolls-Royce its largest advance order book and fastest post launch sales growth of any model in the company’s history. The super-luxury SUV has become the fastest-selling new Rolls-Royce model to date.
Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Farewell to the Ghost
2019 marked the end of Ghost production 11 years after its launch at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The most popular Rolls-Royce model of the Goodwood era, it attracted a new audience of younger, often self-made, entrepreneurial customers to the brand. Over its 11-year lifecycle, it became the biggest-selling Rolls-Royce not just of the Goodwood era, but in the entire history of the marque.
Rolls-Royce Ghost
The success of the Ghost placed Rolls-Royce in a position to scale up its production and make the massive investments that have led to it becoming the truly global brand it is today. After 5 years of development, a successor is due for launch in mid-2020 with market availability from the fourth quarter.
Bespoke keeps growing
Global demand for Rolls-Royce Bespoke reached a new peak in 2019. The Bespoke Collective comprises several hundred creative designers, engineers and craftspeople. These highly talented men and women take enormous pride in fulfilling unprecedented levels of customer requests for Bespoke personalisation and delivering on beautiful individual commissions. In 2019, they worked on some of the most spectacular Collection Cars ever created in the history of the brand.
Unlike its predecessor which was developed long before the electronic age, the new Land Rover Defender is filled with advanced technologies, particularly in the area of connectivity. At CES 2020 in Las Vegas, the world’s largest consumer electronics show which is on this week, Land Rover is displaying the 4×4 model as the first vehicle with two embedded LTE modems for enhanced connectivity, while the vehicle’s new Pivi Pro infotainment system shares electronic hardware with the latest smartphones.
21st century technology in the New Defender
SOTA technology
The fast and intuitive Pivi Pro system allows customers to make full use of the Software-Over-The-Air (SOTA) technology in the New Defender without compromising the system’s ability to stream music and connect to apps. With its own designated LTE modem and eSIM, the SOTA technology can operate in the background without affecting the day-to-day connectivity provided by the separate modem and eSIM in the infotainment module.
The always-on, connected Pivi Pro setup sits at the heart of the cabin. A 10-inch high-resolution touchscreen allows customers to control numerous aspects of the vehicle using the same processing hardware as the latest smartphones. In addition, customers can connect two mobile devices at once using Bluetooth.
“With one LTE modem and eSIM dedicated to the Software-Over-The-Air (SOTA) technology and the same set-up looking after music streaming and apps, New Defender has the digital capacity to keep customers connected, updated and entertained at all times anywhere in the world,” said Peter Virk, Director of Connected Car and Future Technology at Jaguar Land Rover. “You could liken the design to a brain, with each half enjoying its own connection for unrivalled and uninterrupted service. Like the brain, one side of the system looks after logical functions, like SOTA, while the other takes care of more creative tasks.”
The LTE connectivity behind the Jaguar Land Rover infotainment system also allows the New Defender to roam across multiple networks in different regions to help optimize connectivity. In addition, the cloud-based architecture provided by CloudCar is designed to make it easy to access and use content and services.
Expanded SOTA capability
Land Rover has also confirmed the first New Defender SUVs will feature more SOTA capability than originally projected. At its Frankfurt Motor Show launch in September 2019, it was announced that 14 individual electronic control modules would be able to receive remote updates. However, the first production vehicles will feature 16 control units capable of receiving SOTA updates.
Software updates for the electronic systems can be done ‘over the air’ from anywhere in the world, making it unnecessary for owners to go to a service centre.
Land Rover engineers estimate that in-dealer software updates will be a thing of the past for Defender customers before the end of 2021 as additional SOTA modules come online, rising from the current 16 to more than 45.
Qualcomm Technologies
Powering the Defender’s Pivi Pro infotainment and Vehicle Domain Controller are two high-performance Qualcomm Snapdragon 820Am Automotive Platforms, each with an integrated Snapdragon X12 LTE modem. The Snapdragon 820Am Automotive Platform delivers unprecedented performance and technology integration designed to support highly advanced telematics, infotainment and digital clusters.
With its power-efficient CPU cores and state-of-the-art GPU performance, integrated machine learning and powerful video processing capabilities, the Snapdragon 820Am Automotive Platform will enhance connected in-car experiences, including responsive interfaces, immersive 4K graphics, high-definition media streaming, and immersive audio.
Two X12 LTE modems provide parallel high-bandwidth downlink and uplink connectivity across multiple networks, ultra-fast connectivity and lower latency for secure, reliable communications. Additionally, the X12 LTE modem features an integrated global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and automotive dead reckoning, increasing the vehicle’s capability to accurately keep track of its location and position.
BlackBerry QNX
The New Defender is the first Land Rover vehicle to include a domain controller that consolidates a number of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and driver convenience functions built on top of the QNX Hypervisor. Consolidating more systems onto fewer ECUs is integral to the future of automotive electrical design and will be the model for the Land Rover brand’s next-generation vehicle architecture.
Within the New Defender, the Blackberry QNX operating system helps deliver a smartphone-like experience for Pivi Pro infotainment users. The technology also powers the operating system for the latest generation TFT Interactive Driver Display, which can be configured to show vehicle instrumentation, navigation instructions and mapping information or a combination of the two.
BlackBerry QNX technology is embedded in more than 150 million vehicles on the road today and used by top automakers for their ADAS, digital instrument clusters, connectivity modules, hands-free, and infotainment systems.
CloudCar
Jaguar Land Rover is the first global car maker to use CloudCar’s latest cloud-based services platform. Working with the world-leading developer of connected driver experiences brings new levels of customer convenience to the Pivi Pro infotainment fitted to the New Defender. The CloudCar system supports a variety of service and content functionalities and recognizes dial-in numbers and codes, as well as locations, stored within calendar meeting invites. Customers can then navigate to or dial-in to meetings and conference calls with a single touch of the central touchscreen.
Bosch ADAS
Land Rover is on the road to a connected and autonomous future and the New Defender features a variety of technologies developed with Bosch to enhance the driving experience. Alongside the latest Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which include Adaptive Cruise Control and Blind Spot Assist, Bosch has supported the development of the Land Rover brand’s innovative 3D Surround Camera System, which gives drivers a unique view of the vehicle’s immediate perimeter using four wide-angle HD cameras, each providing a 190-degree field-of-view.
Connected using a 3Gbit/s video backbone and fused with 14 ultrasonic sensors, the clever technology gives drivers a choice of vantage points including a top-down plan view and seamless perspective view. It even performs as a virtual scout, allowing customers to pan around the vehicle on screen for the ultimate Command Driving Position on and off-road.
When ‘Toyota’ is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind will be the motorcar. This is the product that the company has been making since the 1930s and is a global leader in the auto industry. However, motor vehicles are not Toyota’s only business (in fact, textile looms feature in its earliest history) and apart from many other types of products, Toyota has been involved in the housing business since the mid-1970s.
Initially, the company produced prefabricated houses that could be easily constructed using a variety of different building techniques. It then expanded its business to include condominiums and rental housing. Today, the Toyota Housing Corporation is a successful subsidiary of the world’s No. 1 automaker. Employing lean manufacturing concepts and strategies from The Toyota Production System, the construction techniques meet high quality and efficiency standards.
Toyota has been offering prefabricated houses since the mid-1970s. These are two of many designs that customers can choose from.
From offering individual houses, Toyota now plans to make a giant leap to the next level as it has revealed plans to build a prototype “city” of the future. Announced at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, the Woven City, as it is called, will be located on a 175-acre site at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan. The ground-breaking for the site is planned for early 2021.
Envisioned as a ‘living laboratory’, the Woven City will serve as a home to full-time residents and researchers who will be able to test and develop technologies such as autonomy, robotics, personal mobility, smart homes and artificial intelligence in a real-world environment.
“Building a complete city from the ground up, even on a small scale like this, is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies, including a digital operating system for the city’s infrastructure. With people, buildings and vehicles all connected and communicating with each other through data and sensors, we will be able to test connected AI technology… in both the virtual and the physical realms… maximizing its potential,” said Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation.
Toyota will extend an open invitation to collaborate with other commercial and academic partners and invite interested scientists and researchers from around the world to come work on their own projects in this one-of-a-kind, real-world incubator.
“We welcome all those inspired to improve the way we live in the future, to take advantage of this unique research ecosystem and join us in our quest to create an ever-better way of life and mobility for all,” said the Toyota President.
For the design of Woven City, Toyota has commissioned the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and his team at BIG have designed many high-profile projects such as 2 World Trade Centre in New York and Lego House in Denmark. The firm was also responsible for the design of Google’s Mountain View and London headquarters.
“A swarm of different technologies are beginning to radically change how we inhabit and navigate our cities. Connected, autonomous, emission-free and shared mobility solutions are bound to unleash a world of opportunities for new forms of urban life. With the breadth of technologies and industries that we have been able to access and collaborate with from the Toyota ecosystem of companies, we believe we have a unique opportunity to explore new forms of urbanity with the Woven City that could pave new paths for other cities to explore,” said Ingels.
Design of the city
The masterplan of the city includes the designations for street usage into 3 types: for faster vehicles only; for a mix of lower speed, personal mobility and pedestrians; and for a park-like promenade for pedestrians only. These 3 street types weave together to form an organic grid pattern to help accelerate the testing of autonomy.
The city is planned to be fully sustainable, with buildings made mostly of wood to minimize the carbon footprint, using traditional Japanese wood joinery, combined with robotic production methods. The rooftops will be covered in photo-voltaic panels to generate solar power in addition to power generated by hydrogen fuel cells. Toyota plans to weave in the outdoors throughout the city, with native vegetation and hydroponics.
Residences will be equipped with the latest in human support technologies, such as in-home robotics to assist with daily living. The homes will use sensor-based AI to check occupants’ health, take care of basic needs and enhance daily life, creating an opportunity to deploy connected technology with integrity and trust, securely and positively.
To move residents through the city, only fully-autonomous, zero-emission vehicles will be allowed on the main thoroughfares. In and throughout Woven City, autonomous Toyota e-Palettes will be used for transportation and deliveries, as well as for changeable mobile retail.
Both neighbourhood parks and a large central park for recreation, as well as a central plaza for social gatherings, are designed to bring the community together. Toyota believes that encouraging human connection will be an equally important aspect of this experience.
Toyota plans to populate Woven City with Toyota Motor Corporation employees and their families, retired couples, retailers, visiting scientists, and industry partners. The plan is for 2,000 people to start, adding more as the project evolves.
In 2012, Toyota also created the ‘Ecoful Town’ in Toyota City as a test project for a Low Carbon Society System.
Following the global debut of the new Peugeot 2008 SUV in in Guangzhou, China, last November, sales of the model began yesterday in Europe, starting in France. After delivering nearly 1.2 million units of the previous generation worldwide, this new generation of the 2008 uses a new design language that has a more powerful and distinctive style.
From launch, Peugeot has made the new model available with three powerplants – electric, petrol and diesel. This not only gives customers more freedom of choice but also cater to the conditions in different markets. For example, some may not be suited for the electric variant yet so the focus will be on the petrol or diesel variants.
New all-electric e-2008
The new e-2008, which runs 100% on electric power, does not have a specific silhouette but will be identifiable by a few details. Forstly, there is a sparkling dichroic Lion, whose reflections alternate between green and blue depending on the angle of view. A discrete ‘e’ monogram on the front wings and tailgate identify this as a zero emissions car while the grille is body-coloured with horizontal lamp pods
Inside, exclusive Alcantara ‘Greval Grey’ seat upholstery is offered with the e-2008 GT. The on-board experience is completed by a display specific to the electric version in the 3D handset as well as in the touchscreen.
The new e-2008 is the first Peugeot all-electric SUV and is expected to provide a new experience for owners with silence and absence of vibrations. Because of the emission-free nature of the vehicle, it can be driven around town even in Green Zones (ecological zones) with restricted traffic.
As the Chinese New Year approaches, the car companies are counting on many Malaysians wanting to start the Year of the Rat – which is the beginning of a new zodiac cycle – with a new vehicle. If you are already shopping around, you may be interested to know that Honda Malaysia and Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia are offering cash rebates and bonuses, as well as other incentives for selected models.
Honda Malaysia’s ‘2020 Starts Now’ campaign offers triple rewards totalling up to RM10,000 (depending on the model). These consist of a Prosperity Rebate, RM888 Extra Bonus and customers also receive an Exclusive Gift. The models applicable during the campaign are the Jazz, Jazz Hybrid, City, City Hybrid, HR-V, HR-V Hybrid, BR-V, CR-V and Odyssey.
If you prefer a pick-up truck, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) is offering an interest rate as low as 0.88% per annum for selected Triton variants. This interest rate is only applicable if the H-P loan is taken from Maybank or Public Bank (subject to terms and conditions).
Mitsubishi Triton Adventure X
Alternatively, for those who prefer a lower price to reduce their loan amount, there is also the option of taking a cash rebate instead. Depending on the variant, the rebates range from RM2,000 to RM9,000. Imported as fully built-up units from Thailand, all Triton variants (except the Triton Quest 4×2) come with a warranty of 5 years or maximum of 200,000 kms.
The Outlander SUV 2.0-litre/2.4-litre is also available with cash rebates up to RM4, 000 and RM2,000, respectively, plus 2 years of free scheduled maintenance. The Outlander 2.0 is priced at RM137, 888 while the Outlander 2.4 is priced at RM152, 888.
Mitsubishi Outlander
For the ASX Compact SUV, cash rebates available are RM12,000 for the 4WD variant and RM8,000 for the 2WD variant. The ASX 4WD is priced at RM133, 336 while the ASX 2WD is priced at RM118, 866.
Whether you choose a Honda or a Mitsubishi, you have to complete the purchase and have the new vehicle registered by January 31, 2020 in order to enjoy the special deals.
The sunvisor as we know it has been around since the earliest days of the motorcar, at least after the driver had the protection of a body around the seating area. While the windscreen glass prevented the onrush of wind from causing discomfort and affecting vision, it did not stop the rays of the sun from blinding the driver.
Back then, drivers must have attached some sort of board to the upper part of the windscreen to block the sun. Later on, when carmakers realised it was something to address, they provided a small panel which could flip up when not needed. In the 1970s, a ball joint was used at one corner so the sunvisor could be flipped to the side so that it could also block the sunshine if it was not coming from the front.
The sunvisor is one of those things in a car which has never evolved, maybe because its function is so basic. Other than adding a mirror (some with illumination) and sleeves to store cards or papers, the sunvisor is the same as what it was decades ago.
Driving towards the evening sun can often be blinding, even with a sunvisor. This innovation could eliminate the discomfort (and danger to driving).
Blocks the sun but not the view
Now a group of engineers at Bosch have come out with an innovation for sunvisor design which can block the sun without also blocking a driver’s view of the road. It achieves this by using an LCD panel instead of the usual cardboard or foam-filled panel. The panel can be flipped up when not needed.
There’s also a camera which is pointed at the driver’s face to recognise facial features like the nose, mouth, and, most importantly, the eyes. The camera’s video feed allows a computer to use AI to recognise shadows on the driver’s eyes and darkens only the areas on the visor where the sunlight is strong. The AI varies the darkening and generally, there should be enough areas that are not darkened for the driver to have a clear view ahead.
The Virtual Visor, as it is referred to, is not an official Bosch product yet. It was shown at the CES 2020 and described as a project which three of the company’s engineers worked on in their free time. If the company sees potential to commercialise it, then it would have to go through stringent development processes to ensure durability, safety and all the things that carmakers will demand if they are to adopt it.
It’s that time of the year again when car companies want to make the festive season a more joyful one for you with money-saving offers if you plan on getting a new vehicle. Thanks to the coming of the Year of the Rat in conjunction with the Chinese New Year, Sime Darby Auto ConneXion (SDAC), which represents Ford in Malaysia, has attractive prosperity deals for the Ranger Raptor and Ranger WildTrak.
Until January 31, 2020, customers who purchase a Ford Ranger WildTrak or Ranger Raptor won’t have to pay for scheduled maintenance for the first 2 years (or maximum of 40,000 kms). Ang Pao worth RM2,000 and an exclusive Ford Performance Golf Umbrella are also included in the promotion.
Ford Ranger Raptor
During the same promotion period, the Ranger WildTrak will cost RM3,000 less with the cash rebate SDAC is offering. This can offset the downpayment, reducing the amount of the hire-purchase loan and therefore the monthly instalments.
Benchmark for pick-up trucks
Since being originally launched in the late 1990s, the Ranger has been a benchmark in the pick-up truck segment. Besides inspiring a trend to depart from the boring old utilitarian design, the Ranger also introduced, many class-leading safety features showing that Ford cared about the lives of its customers.
Ford Ranger Wildtrak
With the latest Ranger WildTrak, there are smart safety technologies which are on par with passenger cars. And of course, ‘Built Ford Tough’ capabilities ensure that the vehicle can take on any kind of terrain and provide many years of reliable service to its owner.
The Ranger Raptor – Malaysia’s first and only performance pick-up – will get the adrenalin gushing. It has Ford’s Performance DNA and features like the Terrain Management System, a huge Bash Plate underneath to protect against impacts and FOX Racing Shox dampers that will soak up the shocks from jumps.
Both variants, as with the rest of the Ranger line-up, come with a full manufacturer’s warranty of 3 years or maximum of 100,000 kms.
For more information the Rangers available in Malaysia, visit www.sdacford.com.my.
It’s not so long ago that the safety provisions in cars – even those at the top end of the market – did little except provide protection when an accident had happened. Passive safety features, such as seatbelts, airbags and a strong body construction were the key elements. The thinking then was to provide as much protection as possible to minimise the injurious effects of the accident.
When it came to avoiding an accident, the active safety features like ABS and vehicle stability systems helped the driver to retain a degree of control. Instead of ending up in a drain or against a tree, such systems corrected the movements of the car to try to stay on course.
Today, cars have systems that are able to recognise the risk of an accident, alert the driver to the hazard and, if necessary, intervene automatically to prevent a collision, or reduce the consequence it there is an impact. Such systems often begin at the upper end of the market, so it’s not surprising that Lexus has been a pioneer in the field. Its investment in the research, development and deployment of sophisticated new technologies is central to the brand’s goal of securing a future where there are no road accidents.
When the original LS 400 was launched 30 years ago, it was the first car in the world to feature an SRS (Supplementary Restraint System) airbag integrated into the steering wheel – the precursor of multiple airbag systems designed to give effective protection to everyone inside the car. This led to world’s first dual-chamber passenger airbag, fitted to the second generation IS 200 in 2005. Its unique structure greatly improved protection for the neck and shoulders.
Today, Lexus models can feature as many 10 different airbags around the cabin, including knee, side and curtain shield systems and front airbags that activate in line with the severity of the impact.
The behind-the-scenes work at Lexus to improve and devise new safety systems doesn’t just focus on cars and how they are driven. It goes further to analyse and understand the human body and how people react physically in the moments before an impact.
The key to this research is THUMS – Total Human Model for Safety – a computerised crash test system that replicates the not just the size and shape of the human body, but also the position, density and vulnerability of its internal muscles, bones and organs. It’s adaptable for different ages, too, with virtual modelling of infants, older people and even pregnant women. THUMS’s digital mapping can track the properties of around 20 million points on and inside the human body.
THUMS can obtain extremely detailed information about the human body during an accident using advanced digital mapping.
In 2015, Lexus bundled its principal new safety features in a new package called Lexus Safety System +, revealed for the first time on the fourth generation RX SUV. This was the start of a worldwide roll-out of the safety system with its wide-ranging availability demonstrating Lexus’ belief that, to be effective in reducing accidents and injuries, new safety technologies need to be provided on as many vehicles as possible. Democratising cutting-edge safety technology means these features cannot be restricted to the high-grade models only but are offered on entry and core vehicles.
A Lexus vehicle with a variety of sensors carrying out tests for autonomous operation.
Over the past 4 years, Lexus has improved the scope and the functionality of its safety these systems, enhancing their capabilities. In 2017, the launch of the all-new LS 500h flagship sedan marked a significant leap forward in safety with the debut of Lexus Safety System + A. This cutting-edge portfolio included a series of world-first features, with a level of driver assistance that propelled our progress towards future automated driving systems. Although not formally classified, Lexus Safety System + A meets the criteria for SAE Level 2+ automation – the industry standard for automated driving capability.
Future automated driving systems will have an important impact on road safety, having the potential to reduce the number of traffic injuries and fatalities, while also easing congestion (which helps the environment) and enabling older and disabled people to enjoy mobility.
Car races are decided on the track. That will continue to be the case for some time to come. But virtual racing contests are also on the rise as eSports gain popularity all over the world and have the support of some carmakers. For some time now, eSport tournaments have been drawing huge crowds – but are these competitions really sports? “Of course they are,” said Niklas Krellenberg, one of Germany’s top professional racing gamers. “I do more than sports shooters, for example.”
Athletic associations are beginning to share this view. In 2022, eSports will be a medal event at the Asian Games, and the International Olympic Committee is considering whether to include them at the Summer Games in Paris in 2024.
2.2 billion competitors worldwide
This is hardly surprising. Worldwide sales of computer games exceeded one hundred billion US dollars in 2016 – more than the global film and music industries combined. Some 2.2 billion people compete regularly in these games. The best of them can live off the sport – quite well, in fact. They’re organized in professional teams, draw set salaries, and win high levels of prize money. Tournaments for League of Legends, a role-playing team game, can award millions of dollars to the winners.
Even soccer clubs like VfL Wolfsburg in Germany have begun to add eSport teams to their organizations. “We want to reach young people with our programs,” explained Tim Schumacher, the club’s General Manager, noting that it became the world’s first soccer club to offer contracts to eSport players. And of course, there’s also a strong interest in ‘developing new marketing fields’.
New model presentation at a gaming fair?
In mid-2017, Porsche and Microsoft invited the best e-racers from an online contest to enter a 24-hour race in Le Mans. The contestants vied for their own Le Mans laurels on their Xbox consoles – in a sixth classification – and took part in the official awards ceremony. One week earlier, Microsoft had presented – to a crowd of gamers – the most powerful 911 in history, the GT2 RS, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. “The gaming sector means a lot to us, because it enables us to provide an emotional and interactive brand experience to a young and extensive target group,” explained Sebastian Hornung, Porsche’s Director of Branded Entertainment.
Instead of a traditional debut to car enthusiasts at a motorshow, the GT2 RS was first shown to gamers in 2017 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
“Awakening and promoting interest in motorsports and conveying the excitement of the racetrack – you can do that really well in the virtual world,” he added. Last year alone, Hornung and his team put considerable effort into preparing multiple Porsche models for use in a wide range of games. “The entire process – including taking photos and possibly laser measurements, providing the technical data, and producing a digital copy for the game – takes around 6 months for each individual model,” he revealed.
How real are these simulators?
The result is a virtual experience that is astonishingly close to driving a real Porsche. “It’s awfully similar to the real thing,” confirmed test driver Lars Kern as he raced his GT2 RS around the Nordschleife in Forza Motorsport 7. “It feels extremely realistic.”
The simulator at Porsche which uses powerful supercomputers helps engineers in their development work.
Kern is a test and development driver at Porsche who spent many years as a race-car driver. In 2017, he drove a 911 GT2 RS to a new record for road-authorized sportscars on the Nordschleife. He’s also very good at transferring his skills to a racing simulator, thanks to the steering wheel and the software’s high degree of realism. But even for someone with his level of experience, driving without a steering wheel is a completely different story. A small controller with a dozen buttons but no pedals and no feel for the car. “I’m slightly out of my depth,” conceded Kern.
World rally champion on the Xbox
The contestants are another story in the world of eSports. Krellenberg, 27, is already a world rally champion on the Xbox gaming console. He steers his Porsche confidently across the screen through the virtual curves of the legendary racecourse in the Eifel region. The controller is for him what the steering wheel is for Kern—an extension of his arms.
Like Kern, Krellenberg knows the braking points on countless racetracks and the weaknesses of his rivals and challengers. He knows which cars will respond in which ways to strong steering actions. And when he races, he switches off the traction control and ABS.
Niklas Krellenberg is one of Germany’s top professional racing gamers.
You may imagine that Krellenberg has a real sportscar as well but he seldom sits behind a real steering wheel in an actual car. He uses public transportation for the short commute to his university; if he needs a car in his hometown of Magdeburg, he borrows his parents’ wheels.
Krellenberg is a new type of athlete. He doesn’t lift weights or send balls of any type flying across a court. Soccer players have amazing legs; race-car drivers are said to require extraordinary muscles in their buttocks. For gamers like Krellenberg, the eyes and hands are what count. Their fingers can perform up to5 actions per minute.
eSports gaining in relevance
Digital developments and rapidly accelerating process speeds have brought virtual racing to the attention of the traditional racing scene. “The lines between the two fields are starting to blur,” observed Frank-Steffen Walliser, Porsche’s Motorsports Director. “eSports are gaining in relevance, and we’re interested in this development and want to help shape it.”
Digital developments have brought virtual racing to the attention of the traditional racing scene
After all, virtual processes are an integral part of making cars. Simulators are used every day to tune them, and computers are absolutely essential development aids. What’s new are the possibilities for training drivers. How can young talent be encouraged? Console games can help address this question, said Walliser, because ‘many e-racers have acquired a very good foundation’.
Despite major advances in virtual racing, everyone recognizes that they’re different from racing in the real world. “The sense of speed isn’t the same; you can’t compare it with accelerating a real car,” said Kern. “It’s difficult to convey that type of sensation in a virtual setting. The textures, spatial relations, and smells of a race car also play very special roles. Which is why classic motorsports will continue. But in the future, it’ll be side by side with virtual motorsports.”
