IAA Mobility 2023: six new cars and concepts highlight the latest EV evolution

Alongside key show stars like the latest generation Mini and BMW’s Vision Neue Klasse, there was a host of other new machinery on display at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich, one of Europe’s few remaining major motor shows. We’ve scoured the stands and here are the six near and future stars that caught our eye. 

IAA Mobility 2023: new cars and concepts

Polestar Synergy Concept

This year’s outing for the Polestar Design Contest switched back from spaces to cars, with the debut of the Polestar Synergy. This fantasy electric supercar, shown as a fully complete 1:1 scale model, combines the winning talents of exterior designers Devashish Deshmukh and Swapnil Desai and the interior skills of Yingxiang Li. Over 600 entries were whittled down to the winning trio, who then spent six months collaborating with Polestar’s design team on this low-slung, single-seat sporting vision. 

The show also saw the announcement of a new partnership with Mattel’s Hot Wheels brand, which will manifest in toys and models based on current production cars and future design contest winners. This model will be undertaking a tour of Polestar Spaces around the world. 

Polestar Design Contest, About.Polestar.com

Audi Q6 e-tron

Audi used the reveal of the Q6 e-tron to focus on the new electric SUV’s interior. Described as ‘designed from the inside out’, the car represents the next step in the evolution of the fabled Audi interior quality, a realm where the brand was once the undisputed leader. Times have changed, and so have the amount of information that drivers (and passengers) expect to be served up.

Rather than follow the Mercedes route map of all screens, everywhere, Audi has seemingly absorbed the influence of brands like Hyundai and Kia, with an instrument binnacle that extends out into a central info screen, the ‘Audi MMI panoramic display’. The Q6 goes one louder with the addition of yet another screen, the ‘MMI front passenger display’, turning the dashboard into an information-dense landscape, a ‘digital stage’, albeit a slightly cluttered one.

There’s also an optional augmented reality head-up display that appears to project information onto the surrounding environment. Interior surfaces and textures have a more textured, tactile feel, reflecting the use of more recycled materials, and all of this will be wrapped in the first application of Audi’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) platform. 

Audi Q6 e-tron, price tbc, available from early 2024, Audi.co.uk

Mercedes CLA Concept

Mercedes used the Munich show to release the Concept CLA Class, a mid-range four-door coupé that swathed a ‘hypermiling’ EV with an elegant body shape that demonstrates a clear evolution from the company’s current CLA Coupé.

The full-width MBUX Superscreen has slimmed down to create a less monolithic-looking dash than the current EQS and EQE), while neon-style LED lighting and bright chrome grilles add more than a hint of retro diner. The concept showcased an operation system underpinning all the graphical wizardry, and there was also talk of a 466-plus-mile range, thanks to even more emphasis on low-energy systems and improved aerodynamics.

Mercedes-Benz CLA Concept, concept only, Mercedes-Benz.co.uk

Renault Scenic E-Tech Electric

One thing we learned from Renault’s revival of the Scenic nameplate is that it was originally an acronym for ‘Safety Concept Embodied in a New Innovative Car’. Whilst the early models were mid-sized MPVs, this latest version is essentially a compact electric SUV, currently the dominant market category. On hundred per cent electric, with an impressive range of up to 379 miles for the 87KwH battery version, the new Scenic E-Tech is the epitome of technological trickle-down, with a host of functions and capabilities that could be only found in premium vehicles just a few years ago.

These range from matte body colours to an electrochromic glass roof, as well as USB-C ports for every seat and even fold-out stands for devices in the rear. The company also claims that 90 per cent of the car’s mass is fully recyclable. On top of all that, Renault has enlisted none other than Jean-Michel Jarre to create the car’s ‘signature sound sequence’. 

Renault Scenic E-Tech Electric, price tbc, available early 2024, Renault.co.uk

Vauxhall Experimental Concept

The Vaxuhall Experimental Concept continues the brand’s current run of clean-sheet designs, with the sleek exterior of this electric crossover previewing the next generation of the mainstay Insignia model. Sharing a platform with several other cars in the Stellantis group has given Vauxhall’s designers the chance to branch out with a bolder, more solid crossover body style than the old Insignia.

While the concept’s self-driving facilities and foldaway steering wheel are still largely fanciful, you can expect some of the space-making properties of the electric platform to be carried over into the company’s next product. 

Vauxhall Experimental, concept only, Vauxhall.co.uk

Volkswagen ID.GTI Concept

There’s nothing particular unrealistic or overtly conceptual about Volkswagen’s ID.GTI Concept, a surprise arrival at IAA Mobility that takes the forthcoming ID.2 model and cloaks it in the familiar livery and trim of one of Volkswagen’s most iconic petrol models, the Golf GTI. The company acknowledged it was the first application of this ‘emotive’ label in the electric future, but stopped short of saying that GTI would no longer apply to traditional combustion cars.

With a production version slated for 2027, a couple of years after the conventional ID.2 makes its debut, the company could have another cult hit on its hands. The ID.2 itself was previewed by March’s ID.2all01 concept, when VW promised it could bring the price of its entry-level EV to under €25,000. The ID.GTI could well be designed to take up the economic slack, but the excellent attention to detail and the promise of spirited performance will make this EV a winner. 

Volkswagen ID.GTI, concept only for now, Volkswagen.couk