IAA car show displays industry in reinvention

AFP, Frankfurt Am Main :
 Automakers meet for the biennial Frankfurt car show (IAA) Tuesday, radiating confidence even as they face tougher environmental rules, a rush of pricey new technologies and major players leaving empty seats.
On the surface there is nothing but good news at the IAA: the European car industry can boast of five years of non-stop growth, projected to continue this year, and its 12.6 million employees on the Old Continent.
Almost 1,000 exhibitors will fan out across the 200,000-square-metre area — the size of 27 football pitches-of the German financial capital’s trade show grounds.
The show will feature 50 carmakers, parts suppliers and internet giants, among others.
And Germany’s VDA car industry federation promises some 228 announcements of new models during the show, many of them the urban 4x4s that sprang from nowhere to claim 30 percent of European new car sales over the past 15 years.
But away from the gleaming chassis, high-tech presentations and optimistic keynote speeches, warning lights are blinking on the dashboard of an industry that remains key to Europe’s economic health.