This issue puts the spotlight on the supplier industry. After two years of outstanding growth rates, the sector faced tougher times in 2012. And it looks like the foreseeable future will remain complex.

In the cover story, our experts analyze the upcoming challenges and opportunities. We also interviewed Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of the European supplier association CLEPA, about his personal outlook. We look at the future of "smart mobility", provide some food for thought on advanced driver assistance systems and discuss the reinvention of relationships between OEMs and suppliers.

To round off the issue, we look to the future to find out what's going on in Germany's growing market for specialized online automotive service platforms, and, finally, unveil one of the oldest ancestors of new mobility.