The automotive sector includes the supply, production and related services of the automobile industry as well as all fields relevant to the latter. Automotive technology can be found e. g. in vehicles, agricultural machinery, on ships or in planes.
The automotive sector in Baden-Wuerttemberg is characterized by a strong supplier industry. Therefore, one essential characteristic of the automotive sector is the broad range of value creation. The involved economic sectors include, amongst others, the motor vehicle construction, electrical and mechanical, the metal industry as well as the rubber and plastics industry.
About one third of all German enterprises in the automotive sector are located in Baden-Wuertemberg. Being considered the two most innovative automobile manufacturers, the Daimler AG and Porsche AG, for instance, have set up their headquarters in Baden-Wuertemberg. Furthermore, the Audi AG maintains an important research and manufacturing site. Numerous large system suppliers, which operate on a global scale, and more than 1,000 small and medium-sized subcontractors of the automotive industry are located in Baden-Wuertemberg.
The extension of the product range with regard to the thematic scope as well as the development of new markets for the automobile industry are very much in focus in Baden-Wuertemberg's university and non-university research landscape. The University of Stuttgart, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), a number of universities for applied sciences as well as numerous research institutions, such as the Max Planck institutes, the Fraunhofer institutes and the Innovation Alliance BW have well integrated the automotive segment into their research programs.
In general, the automotive industry is one of the most highly innovative sectors. Hereby, innovative power electronics, ICT systems, electric storage systems and the lightweight vehicle construction play a significant role. This, in turn, triggers new developments in the area of networked mobility, assistance systems and energy-efficient propulsion technologies.