New concepts, new venue: The premiere of IAA MOBILITY in Munich was a resounding success with around 400,000 participants from all over the world. At the world’s largest mobility platform, innovative solutions for the mobility of the future were presented and debated for over a week.
The first IAA MOBILITY in Munich exceeded all expectations and set important signals for a climate-neutral future of mobility. Around 400,000 participants from 88 countries experienced and discussed innovative solutions at the largest event in Germany since the Corona pandemic began a year and a half ago.
The event brought together 744 exhibitors and 828 speakers from a wide range of mobility sectors: from cars and bicycles to urban air mobility, the digital industry and the financial sector. Visitable either in person on 250,000 square meters of exhibition space at the Munich exhibition center and in the Open Space of downtown Munich or online.
The opening of the IAA MOBILITY on Sept 7 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel had already raised great expectations. “When I look around, I am quite convinced that the transformation to climate neutrality will be a success for our country and for our automotive industry,” Merkel said to applause of the audience: “The IAA MOBILITY is a signal of hope.”
It was exactly this statement that was convincingly confirmed by the first major trade show in Germany with global appeal since the start of the Corona pandemic a year and a half ago. 100 premieres, such as the presentation of the first robot cab service in Germany, underscored the innovative power of the mobility industry.
The broad mix of exhibitors – 98 areas of auto manufacturers, 75 bicycle brands, 152 supplier companies, numerous tech companies and 78 startups – inspired the trade visitors just as much as the panels and debates about the design of a climate-neutral future of mobility.
“We took a bold step and were rewarded by the visitors, 400,000 participants are a clear vote with the feet. The IAA MOBILITY is now the largest mobility event in the world,” said Hildegard Müller, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), summing up the event, which was jointly organized with Messe München for the first time. The interest was so great that access to certain areas had to be restricted at times.
According to Müller, the new concept hits the nerve of the times: “New electric cars, bicycles, e-scooters, energy policy and urban planning, digitalization and more – here in Munich we have presented together what must be thought together in the future. The transformation of mobility towards climate neutrality is moving forward with commitment.”
A visible sign of this was also the German premiere of the Blue Lane designated exclusively for climate-friendly vehicles. Visitors completed a total of 7000 test drives with 255 e-vehicles on the route between Munich’s inner city and the trade fair grounds.
These test possibilities and the multicolored mixture of the exhibitors were evaluated particularly positively in a survey. 67 percent of the visitors were younger than 40. 45 percent of the visitors were primarily interested in the offers of the bicycle brands, 65 percent in the innovations of the automobiles. 86 percent of visitors rated the IAA MOBILITY concept as very good or good.
“This new IAA MOBILITY is a strong signal to the world that international trade show events are possible again in Germany,” said Klaus Dittrich, CEO of Messe München. “We can hold such large events safely, and the protection and hygiene concept has worked excellently.” The enthusiasm for the first major attendance trade show since the start of the Corona pandemic was high among exhibitors and visitors alike. In media terms, too, IAA MOBILITY was the world’s biggest event this year after the Olympics and the European Football Championship.
