Automechanika Innovation Award 2022 winners announced

Following on from the first day of the Automechanika trade fair, a ceremony took place last night to honour the Automechanika Innovation Award 2022 winners. In addition to eight recipients taking home an accolade for excellence in a particular category, the organiser bestowed a Green Award upon the product judged to be especially sustainable.

An international panel of 14 experts chose the winners of the Innovation Awards from a total of 133 candidates. They evaluated the products and solutions for various criteria, including the degree of innovation, cost-effectiveness, user-friendliness, functionality, relevance to the aftermarket, safety and quality, as well as contributions to environmental protection and sustainability.

“Innovations are the focal point of Automechanika,” states Stephan Kurzawski, senior vice-president. “Over the next few days, more than 2,800 exhibitors will be presenting their latest products and services – many of which are world firsts. In recent years, new products and smart solutions have been developed at a staggering rate. This once again highlights the wealth of innovation on offer in the international automotive aftermarket.”

Innovation Award 2022 winners

Companies from the automotive aftermarket were invited to submit their innovations in the following categories: E-Mobility, Data & Connectivity, Workshop & Service Solutions, Parts & Technology Solutions, Body & Paint, Car Wash & Care, Accessories & Customizing, and Commercial Vehicles.

The winners and finalists are on display during the Automechanika Frankfurt show in the new Innovation4Mobility showcase in Hall 3.0. This year’s award-winning products reveal a clear focus on digitalisation, new mobility and sustainability. Winners include smart solutions for workshops and automotive technology, including an app that allows spare parts to be found and ordered quickly and reliably, online-supported systems for damage diagnostics, and a Bluetooth colour scanner that can identify colours and use a datable to supply the correct formula for matching paint in a matter of seconds. A recovery system for damaged e-cars, a rapid charging station with a maximum output power of 240 kW, and a system for reducing braking torque are also among the award winners.

This is the third occasion that the panel presented the Green Award to honour the most ecologically sustainable innovation among the submitted products. The Green Award for 2022 went to GelKoh for ‘LiBa Rescue’, a recovery system for e-cars that helps to conserve resources. This innovation also won the Innovation Award in the Workshop & Service Solutions category.

Category winners

E-mobility: Autel Europe. The MaxiCharger DC FAST from Autel is a direct current (DC) fast charging station for battery electric vehicles. It has a maximum output power of 240 kW.

Data & Connectivity: Herth+Buss Car Parts. The Herth+Buss Product Detector app makes it possible to quickly and easily identify the spare part being sought. With this app, the desired item can simply be scanned into the app and then found – eliminating time-consuming searching through print and online catalogues. The app’s image-recognition capability saves workshops time and money – it is even possible to order parts directly through the app.

Workshop & Service Solutions: GelKoh GmbH. The LiBa Rescue recovery system for electric vehicles is heat-resistant up to 1,500 °C and works in much the same way as a fire blanket. In a fire incident or as a preventive measure, the damaged vehicle is pushed on top of the recovery system, after which the recovery system is wrapped around the vehicle. Although the recovery system is not able to prevent chemical reactions in the battery itself, it makes it difficult for a hot battery to set other flammable substances in the vehicle alight by limiting the supply of oxygen, allowing it to prevent the total write-off of a vehicle.

Parts & Technology Solutions: Knorr-Bremse Systeme für Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH. The braking torque reduction system helps to reduce CO2 emissions, lowers fuel consumption, and lessens the level of fine particulates by lowering brake pad wear. It will be possible to retrofit all standard Knorr-Bremse brake systems on the market with this system in future.

Body & Paint: Celette France S.A.S. The Eagle Electronic Car Body Measurement System is a laser-assisted electronic measurement system to ascertain the distortion of chassis, for example following collisions. The results are then compared with the CAD coordinates supplied by the vehicle’s manufacturer, and the system is able to reliably detect deviations of ± 1.5 mm. An entire vehicle can be measured in no more than ten minutes.

Car Wash & Care: Lederzentrum GmbH. ColourScannerPRO is a novel new type of mobile digital tool that is able to quickly and affordably determine the colour of leather for leather repairs. The colour scanner is connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth using the ColourLock app.

Accessories & Customizing: Dropracks AS. Dropracks elevating roof racks are an
Dropracks – Elevating Roof Racks innovative roof rack system for cars in which the loading surface (the rack) is not permanently attached to the base rack on the vehicle’s roof. Instead, a clever kinematic mechanism makes it possible to pull out the rack and lower it to chest level. The result: bulky items like bicycles, kayaks and ladders can be loaded and secured easily.

Commercial Vehicles: ZF Friedrichshafen AG. The ZF Aftermarket Turning Assistance System CV Retrofit Solution is a novel new turning and lane change assistant that rises above other systems thanks to the fact that its sensor system combines radar with optical sensors. In poor weather conditions, such as heavy rain, fog or snow when the camera is unable to supply reliable information, the radar is supplemented by a second sensor system.