From an automobile to a mobility location
The Stuttgart region, as the birthplace of the automobile and location of Europe's most important automobile cluster, has the best conditions to develop new solutions for the mobility of tomorrow. Since Gottlieb Daimler invented the automobile in Stuttgart, a globally important production cluster of interconnected companies and institutions in the mobility industry has emerged in the Stuttgart region. Automobile manufacturers, system and component suppliers, service companies, engineering offices and numerous research institutes pool their mobility expertise here.
the kuk Hofwagen factory Jakob Lohner
a first electric vehicle drive.
Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Bosch, Mahle, Eberspächer, Mann+Hummel or Vector Informatik – internationally active companies with headquarters in the Stuttgart region form the most important spatial focus of the automotive industry in Germany. There are also more than 400 highly innovative small and medium-sized supplier companies, some of which work exclusively for the automotive industry. Mechanical engineering, which is strongly geared towards the automotive industry, underlines the central position of the Stuttgart region.
118.000 people in the region are directly employed in the automotive cluster. If you include the companies that are not directly associated with vehicle construction, but generate a large or larger part of their sales from the vehicle construction industry, then this number increases to around 215.000 people. Almost 54 percent of the sales of the entire manufacturing industry in the Stuttgart region come from the automotive industry. 56 percent of the sales of the Baden-Württemberg vehicle manufacturing industry are generated in the region.
Strong in research and development
Reduction in energy consumption, new materials and lightweight construction, a growing proportion of electronics and IT in vehicles and alternative drives - from hybrid to electric to hydrogen vehicles:
Companies from the region are facing new challenges with a strong focus on research and development of future technologies. The development centers of Mercedes Benz and Porsche are located in the Stuttgart region. The Bosch research campus in Renningen, which opened in 2015, forms an international hub for the company's global research and development network.
The development service providers based here, such as Bertrandt AG and Vector Informatik GmbH, also contribute to the region's technological leadership. They complement the research and development potential of manufacturers and suppliers and benefit from the increased outsourcing of development tasks.
Application-oriented science and training
With numerous institutes, the University of Stuttgart offers competent contacts for the mobility industry in both basic research and application-oriented research. The Institute for Vehicle Technology Stuttgart (IFS) at the University of Stuttgart, for example, conducts research in the fields of vehicle aerodynamics, hybrid and fuel cell drives, autonomous driving and software development, among other things. Large research and development projects in the automotive and supplier industries are also carried out at the traditional Research Institute for Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart (FKFS). The German Aerospace Center has set up a special institute for vehicle concepts in Stuttgart with a focus on new materials, lightweight construction and fuel cell drives.
The scientific institutions cooperate closely with industry in the search for application-oriented innovations. The topics here range from improving energy efficiency to new materials and processing techniques, for example for lightweight construction, to the growing proportion of electronics and IT in vehicles, for example with the development of driver assistance systems.
The application-oriented technical college institutes, such as the Institute for Automotive Economics in Geislingen and the Faculty of Automotive Engineering at Esslingen University, which permanently employs 650 students, play a central role in the research and training structure.
New ideas for modern mobility
Mobility in the 21st century must meet a wide variety of requirements. Ecological and urban planning requirements must be met, as well as the interests of the economy and the people who live in the cities.
In order to support the transformation process in the mobility industry and do pioneering work, the Stuttgart region has been committed to sustainable mobility in many ways for several years with the support of the state and local companies. She sees her task in particular as initiating forward-looking projects, acting as an intermediary and service provider, inviting everyone involved to network meetings and setting up funding programs to stimulate innovative developments.
As part of the federally funded Model Region for Electromobility and Electromobility Showcase programs, around 60 different projects have been implemented by municipalities and partner companies and 2.000 different types of vehicles have been put on the road: from innovative electric scooters to Pedelecs and various electric cars to the SSB hybrid buses, which are located in... in the state capital of Stuttgart have proven their worth in their use in regular services.