CONSULTING4DRIVE Presents Study, ECO4DRIVE - Making Green Decisions That Drive Market Demand - At ATX - CONSULTING4DRIVE Business Forum at 2009 SAE World Congress

DETROIT, April 20 -- In times of tight budgets, focusing on the right innovations in the right sequence is crucial to survive the market downturn.

CONSULTING4DRIVE, an international strategy and process consulting company, will showcase an excerpt of its new study ECO4Drive during a two-hour panel focus on "Selling in a Downturn," beginning at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, at the ATX - CONSULTING4DRIVE Executive Business Theater at the Cobo Center in Detroit. The three-day Executive Business Theater program is held in conjunction with the annual SAE World Congress.

Harald Gruebel, president and CEO of CONSULTING4DRIVE, says, "making innovation decisions for the automobile powertrain of tomorrow has become an increasingly difficult challenge. The way out of the current crisis will only come to those companies that make the right decisions now. Mild or full hybrid drive, e-drive, conventional engines with alternative fuels - the right technology portfolio, the right time to enter the market and finding the right position will determine companies' ability to outperform in the competitive market."

Investment decisions can be successful throughout the value-adding chain with an approach that assesses both the technological feasibility and the economic relevance of the automobile powertrain in one comprehensive model. This is where the study ECO4Drive can provide the automotive industry with an evaluation of the market position and also enable companies to benchmark green customer benefit vs. total cost of ownership for any type of mobility solution.

The panel "Selling in a Downturn" will be led by Larry Fobes, well known as host of the regional TV-series "Leaders on Leadership," and include Daniel M. Hancock, vice president Global Engineering GM Powertrain; Marcos V. Forgioni, director export sales and marketing VW Truck & Bus Brazil and Jerry Bricker, Strategic Management Consultant.

CONSULTING4DRIVE, the business advisory company of the IAV Group, one of the world's leading providers of engineering and product development services to the automotive industry, teamed last year with ATX Group to introduce the first Executive Business Theater at the traditional automotive engineering conference as a way to emphasize that technical advancements in the automotive industry must be balanced with the economic realities of today's rapidly changing business environment.

Over the course of the Executive Business Theater's three days - April 20-22 - business leaders will hold discussions on various timely topics, including does marketing green vehicles matter in a try-to-survive market, moving vehicle production to a flexible solutions configuration, what kind of partnerships are critical to growth for today's vehicle manufacturers, and a long-term view of where the car industry may be headed.

ABOUT CONSULTING4DRIVE

Based in Berlin, Germany, and with offices in North America, India, China and Russia, Consulting4Drive is a strategy and process consulting company that helps automotive industry executives with "Widening Prospects" in the areas of Globalization, Organization and Process Excellence to improve efficiency and competitiveness. The company is a leading provider of consulting services across the automotive value chain in Development, Production, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Sales, and Service and Marketing. The company also provides unique expertise in bridging the focus of technology with market and customer needs to position organizations for success in the future. Consulting4Drive partners with its customers to provide analysis and market trend studies, strategy and execution to ensure effectiveness.

Customers are global automakers and dealerships, automotive suppliers, and manufacturing companies. Consulting4Drive is a company of IAV GmbH, one of the world's leading providers of engineering and product development services to the automotive industry.

  www.consulting4drive.com.

  ABOUT ATX:

ATX Group (www.atxg.com) is one of the world's leading providers of customized, connected vehicle services to global automobile manufacturers. ATX pioneered connected vehicle services in 1996, and today provides innovative safety, security, communication, navigation and information services to vehicle owners through many of world's most distinguished automotive brands, including Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

ATX also customizes services to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships use telematics data and multiple customer contact channels to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing, and more closely manage customer relationships and contacts with the vehicle through its lifetime. ATX operates from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Dusseldorf, Germany.

ATX is a division of Cross Country Automotive Services (www.crosscountry-auto.com), a leading provider of enhanced claims management services to automobile insurance carriers and driver and vehicle assistance services to motorists.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For a full schedule of events taking place at the SAE Executive Business Theater, please visit www.sae.org/congress