International Motor Show Germany


The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, is one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs. It consists of two separate fairs, that subdivided in 1991. While the IAA Mobility displays passenger vehicles, motorcycles and bikes, the IAA Transportation specializes in commercial vehicles. Before the separation, the show was held solely at the Messe Frankfurt.
In 2021, the IAA adopted the New Mobility World concept, formats and business model, rebranded to IAA Mobility, and moved to Munich.
The IAA is organized by the Verband der Automobilindustrie and is scheduled by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, who recognize the IAA as one of the "big five" most prestigious auto shows worldwide.

History

At the turn of the 20th century

In 1897 the first IAA was held at the Hotel Bristol in Berlin, with a total of eight motor vehicles on display. As the automobile became more known and accepted, the IAA became a fixed event in Germany, with at least one held every year, usually in Berlin. From 1905 to 1907, there were two per year, as the production had increased to an industrial level. In the next years the show was suspended due to the ongoing World War I, and was then reinstated in 1921 with 67 automobile manufacturers displaying 90 vehicles under the motto "comfort".
Despite the still perceptible after-effects of the global recession, the 22nd IAA was held in Berlin in 1931, with a total of 295,000 visitors. For the first time the exhibition included front-wheel drive vehicles. In 1939, the 29th installation of the event gathered a total of 825,000 visitors – an all-time record at that time. The new Volkswagen was presented for the first time, which later came to be known as the Beetle. This was the last IAA before it was again suspended during World War II.

Post World War II

After World War II Germany and Berlin were divided. From 1947 to 1949, West Germany's automobile and accessories manufacturers took part in the export trade fair in Hanover. The automobile industry's hall acted like a magnet on the public, with a great number of visitors coming to the show. In 1951 the Verband der Automobilindustrie moved the IAA to Frankfurt and the federal State of Hesse purchased shares in the Messe Frankfurt. The trade fair was held in April and attracted a total of 570,000 visitors, with exhibits including the first HGV to have a turbo diesel engine. Just six months later, in September 1951, a second exhibition in Berlin was held, gathering 290,000 visitors. From then on, the German automobile industry bade farewell to its traditional exhibition site in Berlin and relocated the motor show completely to Frankfurt. The IAA was also rescheduled to only take place every other year.
In 1989 the last IAA to feature both passenger cars and commercial vehicles in one show confirmed that the exhibition site in Frankfurt was now too small for this major event. Almost 2,000 exhibitors squeezed onto an exhibition site measuring 252,000 square metres. More than 1.2 million visitors attended the event. Because of the high demand, it was no longer possible to meet exhibitors' requirements for adequate exhibition stands. In view of this, the VDA decided to split the IAA from now on, with a focus on passenger vehicles in odd years, and a focus on commercial vehicles in even years. The first IAA focused solely on passenger cars, held in 1991, was a huge success. A total of 1,271 exhibitors from 43 countries displayed their new products and innovations. With more than 935,000 visitors, the IAA Passenger Cars was extremely well attended. In the following year the first IAA Commercial Vehicles took place in Hanover, Germany. It saw 1,284 exhibitors from 29 countries and gathered 287,000 people, 66 per cent being trade visitors.
In 2001 the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York cast a shadow over the IAA Cars in Frankfurt. The exhibition went ahead all the same. As a mark of solidarity with the victims and their dependants, all show elements and loud music as well as the official opening ceremony with the Federal Chancellor were cancelled. VDA President Gottschalk explained this decision: "Because we could not permit terrorist forces to take away our freedom of action. And because, as a key international sector, we have a responsibility not to allow things to grind to a halt." In an impressive manner, the general public confirmed that this indeed was the right decision to take: more than 800,000 people visited this "quiet IAA".
In spite of the Great Recession, the IAA Cars 2009 proved to be a magnet for visitors. Around 850,000 people visited the auto show in Frankfurt, which greatly exceeded the target of 750,000. The headline "A Moving Experience" showed, where the mobility of tomorrow is heading. A huge number of options were presented at the IAA, ranging from the mild hybrid and the plug-in hybrid to the all-electric car, fuel cells and hydrogen power.

Developments in the 2010s

The 2010s were marked by the transformation of the automotive industry:
In 2011 the 63rd IAA featured the all-new "Hall of Electric Mobility", a first-timer to all Motor Shows worldwide. Additional IAA-premieres included the Electric Mobility Conference as well as the CarIT Conference dealing with the issue of connected driving. This approach was repeated in 2013.
In 2015, the IAA introduced New Mobility World, a platform for the entire ecosystem of electric mobility, autonomous driving, connectivity and urban mobility. In the second week of the IAA, the emissions scandal became public. Until the IAA Cars 2015, exhibitor numbers were consistently above 1,000, and the number of visitors was 931,700.
The 67th IAA Cars 2017 – the first after the emissions scandal – was overshadowed by a loss of confidence in the German automotive industry. For the first time, the number of exhibitors fell below 1,000, while the number of visitors dropped to 810,000 – the worst figure since 2001. Meanwhile, New Mobility World grew significantly to 250 participating organizations, 200 conference speakers and 250,000 visitors. Since 2017, NMW's purpose was to not only to be Europe's leading innovation platform for future mobility, but also to develop and establish formats and business models beyond the booth rental of conventional auto shows.
This trend continued at the 58th IAA Cars 2019, with New Mobility World growing to over 400 participating organizations, doubling the number of attendees to 500,000, and increasing its international reach, with 62% of the 240 speakers and 47% attendees at the English-only conference coming from abroad. International media perceived New Mobility World to have "become the meeting point for the world's leading companies in automotive technologies and mobility" by now.
The IAA itself recorded only 560,000 visitors, the number of exhibitors fell to 873, in particular due to a further loss of international exhibitors. It was also accompanied by much larger protests than in the past. According to the organizers, a total of 25,000 participants, 18,000 of them by bicycle, came to a demonstration on 14 September for a change in traffic policy; the police spoke of about 15,000.
The IAA Cars 2019 was the last IAA held in Frankfurt. In 2021, IAA adopted the New Mobility World concept, formats and business model, rebranded to IAA Mobility, and moved to Munich.

Change of venue location

2019 marked the final year that the IAA hosted its automotive exhibition in Frankfurt. In the several previous years, more and more manufacturers opted out of the IAA or greatly downsized their presence. The marques that specialise in high performance and luxury vehicles — such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, and Rolls-Royce — were often the biggest draw at the IAA show, and they were absent from the several previous exhibitions. BMW had downsized its presence from 11,000 to 3,000 square metres. Since 2017, visitor numbers have almost halved, this, in addition to controversies such as Dieselgate and the global climate change issue, have prompted the IAA to change the scope of the exhibition and to pick a new venue.
The rapidly decreasing number of visitors in the last several exhibitions reflected the waning enthusiasm for the IAA, along with prominent protests against the car industry by environmental activists.
The contract between Messe Frankfurt and VDA, the IAA organiser, expired in 2019. VDA chose not to renew the contract, citing the above reasons. Instead, VDA indicated its intention of moving its biannual automotive exhibitions to another city for 2021 onward. The final three candidate cities were Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. Four other cities had also submitted bids but didn't make the final round: Cologne, Frankfurt, Hanover, and Stuttgart.
On 3 March 2020, VDA chose Munich. Munich beat out Berlin and Hamburg based on three criteria. Munich Airport is the second Lufthansa hub and has many direct international flights ; Munich is home to BMW and several other high tech industries such as Apple, Google, and many start-up companies; the city has 130,000 employees working in automobile industry. The Greens-led city council and Bavarian state government have given their support, along with 2/3 of people who responded to the survey. The event was planned to take place from 7 to 12 September, before the start of Oktoberfest, but was cancelled due to Covid. The IAA Mobility finally took place in September 2021.

Major vehicle introductions

1951

The following introductions were made at the 1951 show:
  • BMW 501
  • Automobiles Marathon prototype
  • Mercedes-Benz W187 220
  • Mercedes-Benz W186 300
  • Mercedes-Benz M180 engine
  • Mercedes-Benz M186 engine