Outlook for the IAA Mobility 2021: New braids

Important visitors have been announced for the opening of the IAA Mobility on September 7th in Munich. Chancellor Angela Merkel comes to the Bavarian metropolis to open the automobile rendezvous. The Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) still allows itself so much tradition. Otherwise, the fair should cut off old braids. “It is important that we as the automotive industry can show that we are ready for the mobility of tomorrow”, explains VDA Managing Director Jürgen Mindel and then becomes more specific “We will still see cars with combustion engines in Munich, but the clear focus is on the future of the drive. On battery-electric mobility, plug-in hybrids and similar formats “.

This means that the millions of interested parties and buyers of automobiles with internal combustion engines are pushed into a supporting role. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), a total of 1,390,889 new passenger cars were registered in the first six months of 2021. Of these, 539,551 cars were equipped with an alternative drive, i.e. 38.8 percent. The KBA naturally means BEVs and PHEVs, but also gas, fuel cells and hydrogen. Even though the last two named are to be neglected in this statistic. Exactly 148,716 new vehicles had a battery-electric drive, which corresponds to a share of 10.7 percent.

The VDA man receives support from Christian Hummel, Executive Vice President Automotive, Capgemini Invent: “The IAA, as the high office of the German automotive industry, has suffered from being out of date. In recent years, people have been more and more connected to society at large It has to be about picking up socially relevant trends and presenting tomorrow’s mobility trends to a broad masses and arousing interest. “

The VDA does everything in its power to be as hip and modern as possible. The most beautiful Denglisch speaks of the “IAA Mobility Summit” on the exhibition grounds, where “speakers” give lectures and visitors can find out about the latest car innovations, as is customary at a classic trade fair. In the past, the VDA always boasted about the high number of visitors to the IAA and underlined the global importance of automotive show-off with heavy-handed words. After all, the IAA has long been considered the largest automobile fair in the world and thousands of visitors crowded around the engineering products that were shining in the headlights. There was talk of a “message of optimism” or a “revival in demand for cars”. Those days are long gone. The reason given by the VDA is that, due to the concept in which the exhibitors also present themselves in publicly accessible spaces, it is very difficult to record the number of visitors, but the IAA, which has moved from Frankfurt to Munich, is missing more than ever before. The Stellantis Group with its 14 brands – including Peugeot, Citroen, Opel, Fiat and Co. – completely said goodbye to the fair and most Japanese manufacturers are also staying away from the event on the Isar. Even VW group brands such as Seat, Audi or Skoda stay away from the fair and only present themselves in downtown Munich.

As a pleasant side effect, you also close a flank that made the idea of ​​the traditional automobile fair vulnerable. “When I talk to exhibitors, I notice that the number of visitors has clearly lost importance. The topics that are set at the IAA are more important for the exhibitors,” says Jürgen Mindel. The idea of ​​the open door of the freely accessible areas where industry and motorists come together is charming and is in diametrical contrast to the widespread assumption that car manufacturers are an elitist society that want to have as little to do with customers as possible.

However, Munich locations such as Wittelsbacher Platz, Odeonsplatz, Königsplatz or Marienplatz, where manufacturers such as Porsche, VW and BMW present themselves, also make protests easier. Here, too, the VDA is in keeping with the spirit of the times, liberal and open. “We live in a democratic constitutional state. Everyone has the opportunity to express their views on topics that interest them. As long as these protests are peaceful, they are completely legitimate,” said Jürgen Mindel.

So that networking, which will also be part of tomorrow’s mobility, can also be presented and experienced as vividly as possible, the city and Messe München will benefit from a modern 5G network through the interaction of the most important mobile network operators.