Frost & Sullivan’s 2006 Excellence in Automotive & Transportation Awards Banquet Honours Industry’s Best

17 May 2006

London, United Kingdom - Outstanding performances in Europe’s automotive and transportation industry were recognised at Frost & Sullivan’s 2006 Excellence in Automotive & Transportation Awards Banquet held in Munich on 16th May 2006.

Twenty Awards were conferred on seventeen companies over the course of the evening’s proceedings. Honourees were lauded for exceptional technology leadership and innovation, growth strategies, entrepreneurship, product development abilities, brand advancement skills as well as focussed customer value enhancement.

Among the Award recipients were Siemens ITS, IEE, Microsoft, Texa, Tom Tom, Siemens VDO, Microlise, Drivetrain Innovations, Appello, LogicaCMG, Valeo, SAP, Shell, Lyngsoe Systems, Corning GmbH, Twin-Tec GmbH and Nuance Communications

The Awards were bestowed across a range of automotive and transportation sectors from road user charging, chassis and safety as well as telematics and infotainment to diagnostics equipment, powertrain and logistics and supply chain management. Customer choice Awards for best performance fuel and most environmentally friendly fuel were also presented at the glittering black tie ceremony.

In his keynote speech, ’Highlighting Key Industry Achievements in 2005’, Mr Sarwant Singh, Practice Director, Automotive & Transportation at Frost & Sullivan analysed key technological and market trends in 2005. He noted, "2005 was a marquee year for the European automotive industry and was characterised by accomplishments in commercialising innovative technologies. New milestones were established in the telematics industry, in the search for alternative fuels and in the development of safety systems. Moreover, despite their slow start, hybrids paved the way for a host of new technologies to enter the automotive industry"

Mr. Singh added, "The telematics industry looked set for fundamental changes, with explosive growth projected for portable navigation devices. The year saw many developments such as the introduction of the industry’s first all-in-one device featuring A/V entertainment, DVD navigation and traffic information in one module, efforts to resolve long-standing standard software platform issues, the launch of the first car company based TV channel as well as the growing popularity of mobile phone-based navigation and digital music"

Touching upon the recent upheavals in the competitive landscape, Mr. Singh commented: "Even as market shares for Western giants fell sharply in the United States and major bankruptcies occurred, global car production was set for another year of production expansion due to Asia’s strong performance"

Afterwards, a celebratory dinner accompanied the Awards presentation ceremony with accolades being conferred in the following categories:

Company Award Category
Siemens - ITS Technology Leadership Award - Road User Charging Markets in Eastern Europe
IEE - Automotive Chassis & Safety Growth Strategy Leadership of the Year Award
Microsoft - Automotive Telematics & Infotainment Excellence in Technology of the Year Award
Texa - Technology Innovation Award - Eastern European Diagnostics Equipment Market
Tom Tom - Automotive Telematics & Infotainment Products of the Year Award
Siemens - VDO Automotive Chassis & Safety Excellence in Technology of the Year Award
Microlise - Automotive Telematics & Infotainment Industry Innovation and Advancement of the Year Award
Drivetrain Innovations - Automotive Powertrain Entrepreneurial Company of the Year
Appello - Automotive Telematics & Infotainment Entrepreneurial Company of the Year
LogicaCMG - Brand Development Strategy Leadership Award - Road User Charging Markets in Eastern Europe
Valeo - Automotive Chassis & Safety Industry Innovation & Advancement of the Year Award
SAP - Logistics & Supply Chain Management Industry Innovation & Advancement of the Year Award
Shell - Customer Choice Award - Best Performance Fuel
Lyngsoe Systems - Logistics & Supply Chain Management Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award
Valeo - Technology Innovation Award
Shell - Customer Choice Award - Best Environmentally Friendly Fuel
Corning GmbH - Automotive Powertrain Technology and Innovation Leadership of the Year Award
Valeo - Automotive Powertrain Product of the Year Award
Twin-Tec GmbH - Automotive Powertrain Customer Value Enhancement Award
Nuance Communications - Automotive Telematics & Infotainment Growth Strategy Leadership of the Year Award

The Awards banquet was preceded by a daylong workshop on ’Market Opportunities and Supplier Sourcing Strategies in India’. Experts from TRW, DaimlerChrysler, Mahindra, TATA Consultancy Services as well as Frost & Sullivan led attendees through lively, interactive sessions that examined the tremendous growth opportunities, evolving competitive landscape and changing policy environment in the Indian automotive market.

Speakers at the workshop included David Williamson, Director of Electronics, TRW; Ute John, Manager German Liaison Office of DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology India; Bharath Chandrasekaran, Key Account Manager, DaimlerChrysler; Ashwani Keswani, Vice President Business Development, Mahindra; Avinash Salelkar, Practice Head, Sourcing & Manufacturing Services, Engineering & Industrial Services Business Unit, TATA Consultancy Services; J S Mukul, Consul General of India in Germany; Sarwant Singh, Practice Director, Automotive & Transportation, Frost & Sullivan; and Kavan Mukhtyar, Director, Asia-Pacific Automotive & Transportation, Frost & Sullivan. Workshop presentations are available to the press, for further information please contact magdalena.oberland@frost.com

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company’s industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics.

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Magdalena Oberland

Corporate Communications

Frost & Sullivan

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