The second edition of the IAA Mobility in Munich once again triggered strong criticism this year. But Hildegard Müller, President of the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), which organizes the IAA together with Messe München, does not dispute this. “For days, crowds of people have been streaming into Munich city center and are thrilled,” she said. She sees the trade fair as “a mobility festival with a good mood and great curiosity, which shows how interested people are in solutions and innovations.”
There is “a small group that is trying to disrupt the event with their activism.” Opposite them are several hundred thousand people “who attend and have attended the event with fascination”.
On Sunday, the organizers of the trade fair took stock. According to them, more than 500,000 people came, and on Saturday alone there were more than 100,000 in the Open Space, the exhibition areas in the city center.
Müller describes the event as a great success and – completely different to what the critics see – “groundbreaking for the mobility of the future”. The heads of the Munich Trade Fair, Stefan Rummel and Reinhard Pfeiffer, were equally satisfied: As hosts, the Munich Trade Fair, the state capital and the Free State had once again shown how to successfully implement major international events.
750 exhibitors from 38 countries presented new products
In total, almost 750 exhibitors from 38 countries presented over 300 world premieres and innovations. Every second exhibitor and almost every third visitor came from abroad – from 109 countries. There were also prominent visitors: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (both Greens) as well as, among others, Hollywood actress Natalie Portman as a spokesperson.
Müller says they are already in talks with Messe München for the IAA Mobility 2025. And according to a survey by Gelszus Messe-Marktforschung GmbH, 92 percent of visitors rated the IAA Mobility as “excellent to good”. Further figures: Visitors took around 8,500 test rides with cars and 4,000 rides with bicycles and e-bikes.
City hall politicians positively emphasized the open space concept, which was airier compared to 2021, and hardly criticized the IAA Mobility. Mayor Katrin Haben Schaden (Greens) explained that she would have liked more forward-looking mobility in the open space, SPD traffic expert Nikolaus Gradl spoke of a lot of positive feedback, CSU parliamentary group leader Manuel Pretzl said that people voted with their feet. Sonja Haider (ÖDP), on the other hand, continues to reject using public spaces as exhibition space. And the chairwoman of the Maxvorstadt district committee, where the Königsplatz is located, also stands by her stance: the trade fair belongs on the exhibition grounds, says Svenja Jarchow-Pongratz (Greens).