Performance show? Jürgen Mindel tries to avoid the term. “Difficult word,” he says. The managing director of the automobile association VDA prefers to speak of a “future show” of how people will be able to move around the city and through the country in the future.
The International Motor Show (IAA) begins on September 7th, the show at which the German auto industry proudly presented its products for a long time. But a lot has changed. The car and its creators are no longer admired as they were before, but increasingly viewed with skepticism.
The penultimate IAA attracted 800,000 visitors to Frankfurt am Main in 2017, while the most recent performance in 2019 counted only 560,000 – and the tens of thousands of non-onlookers who brought their displeasure into the city about car worship attracted far more attention than the onlookers . After the Frankfurt Gau, the VDA was looking for a new concept and a new home for its child. This is how the IAA came to Munich. You can see a lot from the way it comes.
The fair will be the first major international event in Germany since the beginning of the corona pandemic. For that reason alone, it will attract a lot of attention. It could be an opportunity to show courage and willingness to set out. But there is little of it to be felt. This IAA will not come in a broad roll.
There should now be more than just cars to see at the motor show, which is why the abbreviation IAA has been expanded to include the appendix “Mobility”. This IAA plus is no longer to be staged as an elitist car summit, which is why the exhibition and event area not only includes the exhibition center in Riem, but also half a dozen spaces in the city center. The two exhibition areas are connected by an extra lane, the so-called blue lane, on which some of the products on display can also be tried out and generally only environmentally friendly vehicles or vehicles in which at least three people sit.
This week the organizers announced more details on all of these ideas. There was so much talk about sustainability approaches, CO2 balance sheets and bicycle manufacturers that at some point Mindel’s representative had to be asked whether there would be a vehicle with a classic combustion engine at all. This is of course still in the program. The auto show people just don’t like to talk about it that much.
If the pandemic values climb to high levels again before the exhibition, a heated public debate threatens
And then there is still a sensitive topic: Corona. How things will go on with the trade fair industry was a topic in the Bavarian cabinet this week. The “TrendSet” furnishing trade fair, which was held in Munich from July 10th to 12th, was a pilot project. Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) announced that this was a success, which is why exhibitions can take place again from August onwards.
The IAA, however, falls into a delicate period: It runs from September 7th to 12th. This is the last week of summer vacation. If the pandemic values climb back into areas that call school openings into question, a heated public debate is likely to threaten.
“What if we should break the 50 or even 100 mark in incidences, as we are already doing in France or Spain?” This has been discussed in detail with the VDA, but the principle governs there: We are now going through with it. The result: You may have to put fences around the outstanding items and set up admission controls. “That would not be exactly the idea of an open platform for exchange”, so the criticism from the industry.
Officially, those responsible are calm. A visit to the IAA should “not be more dangerous than going to the supermarket” says Tobias Gröber, the business unit manager of Messe München, as the solution. The planning is based on the 3-G concept: Access only for those who have been tested, vaccinated or recovered. There are also plans to record contacts, clear distance and mask rules and many disinfectant dispensers. One is in exchange with the authorities and prepared for all scenarios.
Many details will only be clarified in the short term, there is only one scenario that does not seem to exist: relocating the trade fair to the virtual space. There is a “virtual ticket” for 199 euros, which allows access to all conference streams and all digital presentations, but in principle the whole thing is designed as a “happening” with a “festival character” (Messemanager Gröber).
Who is coming to the IAA – and who is missing?
In the meantime, it is also becoming apparent who will participate. Mercedes will represent in front of the Feldherrenhalle, BMW with its brands a few meters further on Max-Joseph-Platz. Audi and Porsche come to terms with Siemens on Wittelsbacher Platz. More than 500 exhibitors from around 30 countries have registered. So far not there: Toyota, the new Stellantis group in which Peugeot / PSA and FiatChrysler have merged – and thus also the German subsidiary Opel that belongs there. General Motors, Volvo or innovative players like Tesla or Nio from China are also missing.
“Like the industry itself, the IAA is in the midst of a major transformation,” says auto expert Stefan Bratzel from the Center of Automotive Management. The new concept, which thinks beyond the car, could be “an exciting mix” – provided that politicians also participate: “In cities in particular, there needs to be political orchestration in the mobility of the future, you can’t do that Left and burdened by the automakers and companies alone. “
His colleague Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the Center Automotive Research in Duisburg also welcomes the “broad and diverse” IAA program. It reminds him “of a kind of world exhibition with pavilions for the individual countries instead of the classic car exhibition”.
There should also be space for public discussions at this world exhibition: a stage will be set up on Marienplatz. “A kind of speakers corner with a program”, that’s how the IAA organizers put it. It seems a bit like an attempt to house the critics. However, it is doubtful whether this will succeed. Groups with resounding names such as “Sand in the Gears” or “Smash IAA” have already started campaigns: “Disempower and expropriate corporations” is one of the many demands that go far beyond pure transport policy. An alternative congress with more than 30 events is planned in the Feierwerk.
The IAA will be opened again – and for the last time as Federal Chancellor – by Angela Merkel. In Frankfurt during their tour in 2019, demonstrators climbed onto the roofs of the polished cars. The prospect that this might not happen in Munich was one of the reasons why the car managers want to try it here now.