Tradition and innovation

The automotive industry has been transforming the world since the end of the 19th century. This invention has permeated our society, causing such an impact that entire shows and exhibitions are dedicated to it. One of them — the Barcelona Motor Show — held its first event in 1919. Two years before its 100th anniversary, the expo is expanding its hallmark role as an OICA-endorsed showcase for new models by adopting a novel approach that brings it in line with the radical transformation that the auto industry is undergoing. The product that reaches the end user is changing so much — because of the devices it incorporates, how it interacts with its surroundings and how it is manufactured — that each new launch at a show merits explanation and analysis. That is why the industry itself — as AutoRevista reveals in several interviews in this issue — speaks out in favour of an initiative that intends to be just as disruptive as the current moment. Hence the remarkable expectation that Automobile Barcelona is generating with the Connected Hub, which offers presentations by technology authorities in the Inspiration Arena, as well as the chance to experience this new reality through the Innovation Square and the Connected Street. It is a highly ambitious wager that will need to be assessed at the close of the show, in which SEAT, which aspires to mark a new milestone in its history, will participate once more.