Triple success at AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards 2015
Mercedes-Benz is the most innovative premium brand of the last decade
Stuttgart/Frankfurt. A comprehensive study by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) and the Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) consultancy has revealed Mercedes-Benz to be the most innovative premium automotive brand with the most world firsts.
Mercedes-Benz additionally receives the special “Most innovative brand of the last decade” prize. Daimler wins the “Most innovative group” title in the “Alternative drives” category.
The presentation ceremony for the “AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards 2015” took place as part of a gala held in Frankfurt on 29 April 2015.
“The love of invention never dies” was the motto of Carl Benz, one of the brand’s founding fathers. Innovation is still one of the main driving forces behind Mercedes‑Benz’s success, as highlighted by the triple success at this year’s “AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards”.
Stuttgart-based Mercedes-Benz easily scooped the special “Most innovative brand of the last decade” prize.
Mercedes-Benz is the only manufacturer able to boast 578 individual innovations and, with 183 world firsts, leaves the competition trailing in its wake.
Outstanding innovations include DISTRONIC PLUS with Stop&Go Pilot, the economical drive system in the S 400 HYBRID and the MAGIC BODY CONTROL suspension.
Innovations highlighted in the “Most innovative premium brand” category included the curve tilting technology in the S-Class Coupé, the LED Multibeam headlamps on the CLS and the overall concept of the CLA Shooting Brake, which leads the way in its segment by combining the beauty of a coupé with the practical benefits of an estate car.
The group has taken the lead in the “Alternative drives” category thanks to the introduction of the S 500 e and C 350 e plug-in hybrids as well as the all-electric-powered B-Class Electric Drive.
The Center of Automotive Management
The basis for decisions on the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award is provided by a study drawing on the innovation database of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.
For the tenth year in succession, the automotive innovations of global automotive groups and their brands have been systematically surveyed and assessed according to quantitative and qualitative criteria.
Innovations are defined as new developments which offer tangible additional customer benefits. The innovations must be already available or they must at least have been presented in developed prototypes.
The CAM operates as an independent institute for empirical automotive and mobility research and for strategic consulting. The director of the CAM is Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel, who founded the institute in April 2004.