Sunday 12th September 2021
Sometimes dead pants in the halls
VDA sees the auto show in Munich as a success
The Association of the Automotive Industry draws a positive conclusion after the Munich premiere of the IAA. The organizer evaluates the 400,000 visitors as voting with their feet. However, the protests overshadow the picture. In the exhibition halls, too, there was sometimes “dead pants”, it is said behind the hand.
The organizers rated the premiere of the new IAA Mobility auto show in Munich as a success. On the whole, the exhibitors are very satisfied, and despite the pandemic, over 400,000 visitors came in just six days – “a clear vote with their feet,” said the President of the VDA, Hildegard Müller, at the end of this Sunday.
According to surveys, most exhibitors and visitors would like the new concept of showing cars and, for the first time, bicycles throughout the city and not just in exhibition halls. “The mix of exhibitors and the opportunity to test innovations directly were rated particularly positively,” said the organizers. Almost 10,000 people tried cars and bikes themselves. The offer was fully booked, said Müller.
Two thirds of the visitors are younger than 40 years. There was great openness and curiosity for new drives and very practical questions such as charging, but also for topics such as digitization or autonomous driving, said the VDA President. In some places, access was slowed down due to overcrowding. On the other hand, there were also “some inquiries”, admitted Müller. “We’ll take the question of how we can network the conference and make it visible again.” Conversation forums transmitted via streaming were sometimes only followed by a dozen viewers.
Daimler: motorway blockades not very meaningful
According to the assessment of a well-known company in the industry, there was at times “dead pants” in the exhibition halls. Müller said that maybe at the next IAA in 2023, the bicycle and e-bike manufacturers would be involved in the halls of the automotive industry: “This is where the suppliers mix too, so that you can do it a little better on site. ” In-depth feedback discussions would be held with all exhibitors. “The basic concept was not called into question.”
Daimler boss Ola Källenius said: “The approach to bring the trade fair into the city was absolutely correct.” The IAA in Munich is “a clear signal for the change in the industry: a new trade fair, with a new concept, in a new city – and finally with guests on site again”. BMW was also satisfied: “We draw a positive conclusion – the IAA Mobility was an ideal platform to exchange ideas about sustainable mobility.” There have been many good conversations. Only highway blockades and other “destructive actions are a shame, from our point of view not very meaningful and distort the good overall picture”.
Dudenhöffer: More of an attraction for retirees
Several large car companies such as Toyota, General Motors or the Opel parent company Stellantis were not present at the IAA. Müller referred to the Corona restrictions and was optimistic that many international exhibitors would be on board at the next IAA. Industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer was very critical. Without a completely different concept, “it was the last IAA,” he said. Suppliers wanted to show their innovations to a lot more car manufacturers on site, and the event areas in the city are more of an attraction for retirees looking for a change.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Munich against the IAA and the auto industry. The demonstrations reached a numerical peak on Saturday. The police spoke of a total of around 14,500 participants in a bicycle rally and a demonstration march to Theresienwiese, the organizers of around 25,000. Again there were clashes between activists and the police. Overall, however, the weekend was quieter than Friday, on which there had been numerous blockade actions.
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