Official logo (46th International Vienna Motor Symposium, organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) and the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology (IFA), Vienna University of Technology; Logo: Copyright © ÖVK/Klaus Ranger)

  The International Vienna Motor Symposium, being organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK), was held for the 46th time this year. As a tradition it took place at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria from May 14th to 16th, and was attended by far more than 1,000 participants from over 25 countries.

  80 lectures were held in three moderated parallel sessions, 68 of which were held on site and a further 12 in-depth video lectures were held virtually on the web platform.

  At this annual event, experts from automotive OEMs and component suppliers and academics come together to exchange opinions on future climate-neutral drive solutions.

  The topics of the lectures ranged from the latest passenger car and commercial vehicle drive concepts to the application and evaluation of non-fossil fuels, sustainability concepts and modern software-defined vehicles.

  The full agenda of lectures can be viewed on the official website (https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/en/programme/technical-programme) and the conference documents – also for previous symposia - can be ordered here (https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/en/conference-documents).

  On the evening of the first day and during break time, participants had the opportunity to visit 50 booths at the accompanying trade exhibition. Suppliers, service and solution providers, research institutes and engineering consultancy companies showcased their latest products, technologies and concepts.

  In the outside area participants was offered the possibility to take a close look at the latest technologies in vehicles on display and experience these by having a test drive.

Test vehicles at the entrance of the venue and booths of certain suppliers demonstrating their technology in the open air (46th International Vienna Motor Symposium, organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) and the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology (IFA), Vienna University of Technology; Photo: Copyright © MarkLines Co., Ltd. All rights reserved)

  In keeping with tradition, the event was once again opened with a fanfare from George Friedrich Händel's “Water Music” by five members of the Vienna University of Technology Orchestra.

  In a short opening speech Prof. Dr. Bernhard Geringer, Chairman of the Board of the Austrian Association for Automotive Engineering (ÖVK), emphasized that the assessment of ‘Net Zero Mobility’ must not only consider emissions during operation, but the entire cycle of a vehicle from raw material extraction and production to disposal.

  “The goal should be more accurately referred to as ‘defossilisation’ instead of ‘decarbonisation’. To achieve this goal, we need a concerted effort and the full physical variety of climate-neutral energy sources, including the appropriate drive technologies.”, he said.

  This is part two of the event report, which covers an outline of the plenary closing session, in which top representatives from PHINIA, ZF and Volkswagen discussed sustainable mobility, alternative fuels, technological openness and the future of the European automotive industry.

  Part one summarized the keynotes of the opening plenary session, in which board members from Bosch, HORSE Powertrain, Mercedes-Benz and MAN discuss ways to achieve net zero emissions.

  Part three will highlight a selection of the technical lectures.

Closing plenary session (46th International Vienna Motor Symposium, organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) and the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology (IFA), Vienna University of Technology; Photo: Copyright © ÖVK/Klaus Ranger)	Event venue at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria (46th International Vienna Motor Symposium, organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) and the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology (IFA), Vienna University of Technology; Photo: Copyright © MarkLines Co., Ltd. All rights reserved)

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