It's a big show in general, spread throughout several buildings in the manner of a small town. Most are occupied by huge displays of the German automakers' collective might, and those German firms will be responsible for many of the show's big debuts.
Other brands still have plenty to offer though, so we're bringing you a full guide to the green cars and concepts of the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show. We'll keep this list updated, as more vehicles are sure to be revealed in the next few weeks leading up to the show.
The BMW i3 has been a long time coming, but Frankfurt will mark its official world debut following the small city-based launches last month. It'll be the first chance most get to interact with the car, from its quirky door layout to its concept car-style interior, to its unusual proportions.
Frankfurt is also said to be the launchpad for BMW's other much-anticipated Project i vehicle, the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. Powertrain aside it's much more BMW's usual territory--low-slung and fast--but with a 1.5-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged powerplant and electric motor combination, low fuel use is still a priority.
Mercedes-Benz has experimented with fully-electric vehicles in the form of the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive and ballistic SLS AMG Electric Drive, but it still sees combustion power as vital for its larger sedans--one of which is the S500 Plug-In Hybrid. The large luxury sedan gets a claimed 78 mpg between electric and gasoline running--though in the real world, these figures will vary.
Land Rover will debut two new hybrid products at the Frankfurt Auto Show, based on the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models. Each will use a 3.0-liter diesel V-6 as its basis, an 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox (used across the automotive world) and a 35 kW electric motor. As regular hybrids rather than plug-ins they rely more on their diesel powerplants than electric drive, but the company claims 36.7 mpg on the combined European cycle.
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