DETROIT — Hella is showcasing several energy management technologies that address the needs of automakers and consumers this week at Convergence 2008 at Detroit’s Cobo Center.

With Hella’s energy management portfolio, automakers can offer higher feature content in smaller vehicles, without increasing the size of the battery and at the same time reducing fuel consumption, the company says.

"The spike in fuel prices during 2008 caused many American car buyers to downsize from their larger vehicles, but consumer preference surveys have shown that people want more fuel-efficient cars, not just smaller ones," noted Dr. Martin Fischer, president of Hella Corporate Center USA. "Conversely, auto manufacturers need to avoid the trap of thinking that new small car buyers are willing to forfeit the features they have become accustomed to in larger vehicles.

"Small cars don’t have to have fewer features to save fuel. With the proper energy management devices, smaller vehicles can have much of the luxury equipment that American consumers want and manufacturers can profitably build."

Hella executives noted that by the middle of the next decade, due to federal mandates, the auto industry will be required to make vehicles averaging 31 percent better fuel economy than today’s models. Automakers also must contend with pending national and state legislation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Many of Hella’s energy management technologies already are on vehicles in Europe and include adaptive cruise control, automatic start-stop controls, battery sensors, voltage stabilizers, air-conditioning sensors and lighting systems. No single product will provide "the solution," according to Fischer. Instead, the answer is integrating systems that will in turn lead to overall improvements in fuel economy.

"By model years 2011 through 2015, cars must achieve 35.7 miles per gallon while the standard for trucks rises to 28.6 mpg," Fischer said. "The good news is that Hella has proven products that can boost fuel economy today.