Dusseldorf, Vienna The time of the big auto shows is coming to an end. The Geneva Motor Show planned for next February had to be canceled at the end of August due to a lack of space. Too few car manufacturers wanted to take part in the event. The city in Switzerland used to be one of the world’s most important exhibition centers for the automotive industry.
The misery will continue in France in a few weeks. There, too, more and more manufacturers are avoiding the Paris Salon, like Geneva was an important car show in the past. The German manufacturers in particular are refraining from appearing in the French capital. The event threatens to become an in-house exhibition for Renault and Peugeot.
The pure car trade fairs with a high proportion of private customers among the visitors are caught in a downward spiral. Not only the exhibitors stay away, but also the visitors. A tough selection process has begun at the most important European car trade fairs. The survival of all events is no longer guaranteed.
“Classic car shows are a thing of the past,” states Stefan Bratzel, Director of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM). New concepts and events with an experience character are needed. “The automotive industry must position itself as part of society and make its innovations accessible in a multimodal mobility world.”
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Single product shows, on the other hand, are threatened with extinction. Former places of pilgrimage for the industry, such as the Geneva Motor Show, are likely to disappear forever. The concept has outlived itself; the advertising value of the events is comparatively low, according to industry circles.
VDA Commercial Vehicles: Fewer trade fair days, fewer exhibitors
According to a high-ranking manager of a German car manufacturer, no one feels any great desire to spend tens of millions for an “unnecessary exhibition”. With your own brand events and digital product presentations, you can achieve greater media coverage at lower cost.
In addition, domestic premium providers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW or the Volkswagen subsidiary Audi are increasingly positioning themselves as luxury brands. However, such an exclusive image cannot be credibly portrayed if a few booths away from cheap brands like Dacia are offering their latest models for sale, says a Mercedes executive.
In the coming week there is an exception on the program, the “IAA Transportation”, the International Motor Show for Commercial Vehicles. Hanover is a traditional meeting place for business customers who want to find out about the latest developments in transport and logistics. The visitor interest is comparatively high.
Among the auto shows, the “IAA Transportation” still works comparatively well as a “business-to-business” event. Even the hoteliers are happy in Hanover. In the coming week, the Lower Saxony state capital is almost fully booked. If you still have to book an overnight stay at short notice, you can quickly get there with 400 or 500 euros. Hanover is experiencing a trade fair week like in the good old days – as if there hadn’t been two hard Corona years.
The renowned motor show on Lake Geneva will be canceled again.
(Photo: imago images/7aktuell)
Jürgen Mindel is accordingly satisfied. “All hall areas are fully booked,” says the managing director of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) in the run-up to the IAA in Hanover. Ticket sales are also going in the right direction. Before the official start of the trade fair in the coming week, advance sales are higher than the comparative figures for the last IAA Commercial Vehicles in 2018.
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The Association of the Automotive Industry is the organizer of the trade fair in Hanover. The passenger car counterpart in Munich, the “IAA Mobility”, is also organized by Germany’s most important industrial association. For the VDA, the trade fairs are not just an economic barometer. The association also has a high level of self-interest in the economic success of the events, because it generates a large part of its annual budget from this.
Nevertheless, the “IAA Transportation” is not a sure-fire success. There will be certain drawbacks this year, and the pandemic has also left its mark on this “business-to-business” event. Compared to the 2018 trade fair, the duration has been reduced from eight to six days.
The number of exhibitors goes back from around 2200 to around 1400. The VDA had attempted to counteract this trend by broadening the topic: it should no longer just be about vehicles, but increasingly also about topics from the areas of transport and logistics.
Geneva Motor Show is canceled again, many cancellations in Paris
The exhibition organizers in Geneva would be happy if they had to deal with the comparatively small problems of their German colleagues. There is a hangover at Switzerland’s most important trade fair location: the Geneva Motor Show scheduled for February 2023 was canceled without replacement at the end of August. “In these uncertain times, many brands are unable to commit themselves to participating in a trade fair in Europe in winter,” explained trade fair boss Sandro Mesquita.
Before the corona pandemic, something like this would have been unimaginable. According to industry circles, Mercedes, for example, had decided against Geneva. A presence at the neutral Swiss trade fair location used to be considered indispensable. The fact that there will be no trade fair in Switzerland next year is almost seen as a fundamental statement in the automotive industry.
“The Geneva fair is not coming back,” says a Volkswagen manager. In the selection process for the most important European events, Switzerland has probably finally lost.
>> Read about this: Geneva Motor Show canceled again – manufacturers stay away
In October, the Paris Motor Show faces its decisive test. The event in the French capital, which was considered indispensable in the past, is also suffering from declining visitor and exhibitor interest. Paris is trying to combine this with a second concurrent car accessories event this year, which should ensure higher attendance.
Nevertheless, the Paris Salon faces the problem that what was once an international event is in danger of becoming a regional in-house exhibition for the French automotive industry. But that is unlikely to make up for the decline in exhibitors. For example, the Volkswagen Group is not represented at all in Paris. When asked, spokespersons for the major brands VW, Audi and Porsche confirmed that they would no longer be represented at the French Salon this year.
Mercedes is present in Paris, but not at the fair. The Swabians are organizing their own event in the city center of the metropolis. BMW, Opel and the European subsidiary of Ford will also not be present at the trade fair in France. Even Citroën will not come to the Porte de Versailles.
Technology fairs are gaining in importance
The long list of cancellations shows that many car manufacturers are no longer convinced that exhibiting at a trade fair will automatically be successful. The construction of a trade fair stand can quickly run into the millions. But when the number of visitors falls, the hoped-for multiplier effect no longer occurs. “The importance of the car as a status symbol has diminished,” says an industry insider. That is the main reason why fewer visitors come to a car show today than in the past.
Technology trade fairs are gaining in importance in terms of external presentation.
(Photo: dpa)
Some car manufacturers are also switching to new formats or smaller industry meetings. For example, Volkswagen is considering going to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This is due to the ever-increasing digitization process: vehicles and mobile phones are growing ever closer together. It is therefore very likely that VW will also take part in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next year, the most important IT trade fair in the USA. Mercedes is already a regular there anyway.
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In almost exactly one year, the “IAA Mobility” as a major German car trade fair has to prove that it has a permanent future. The exhibition organizers do not have to fear that they will be canceled as in Geneva. “Munich will be there next year,” confirms the new VW CEO Oliver Blume.
The organizing VDA, the city and Messe München are still contractually bound to each other for next year. After the VDA withdrew from the traditional location in Frankfurt in 2019, the new trade fair in Munich was initially to be tested in two runs in 2021 and 2023.
The future of the IAA is being discussed
The IAA is also suffering from declining interest, which is why basic mobility topics were included in the trade fair program. For example, bicycles could also be seen on the exhibition grounds. In addition, the trade fair also went to the center of Munich: At the first IAA run a year ago, the stands of the major car manufacturers on squares and streets in the city proved to be a real crowd puller.
The VDA is confident that both the business event in Hanover and the mass-effective exhibition in Munich have a future. “We are optimistic that both concepts will work,” emphasized association president Hildegard Müller. The “IAA Transformation” is secured for years to come.
However, the final decision on “IAA Mobility” lies with the large corporations. They have to say whether they are satisfied with the new Munich concept and whether they can also imagine an IAA for passenger cars in the Bavarian state capital from 2025.
In the summer, the Munich City Council unilaterally decided to downsize and relocate exhibition space in the city centre. A decision with which the city hardly gained any sympathy points in the German automotive industry.
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