[ChiragM]

The future of the Frankfurt Motor Show is uncertain and it may be doomed.



Renault, Nissan, Toyota, Peugeot, Fiat, and Ferrari skipped the show held earlier this year. According to a media report, the 2019 show is said to have had 5,60,000 visitors. In comparison, the show saw 8,10,000 visitors in 2017 and 9,31,700 visitors in 2015. Auto shows across the world are said to be seeing a reduction in the number of visitors and are becoming irrelevant as car makers can control press releases and launches over the internet. The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) says that the show might get a theme park feeling to generate interest and the concept of mobility maybe taken to the city to engage with people.



Apart from a fall in the number of visitors, this year's Frankfurt Motor Show also saw a lot of protests by climate change activists and environmentalists against new SUVs. There were protests outside the venue as well as inside where protestors stood on top of cars.

Link to Team-BHP News

Source: Jalopnik

Image Source: Car and Driver

[laser2707]

It's kinda sad. With the passage of time, certain traditions become obsolescent. Car Shows with falling attendance, OEM's opting out & little to excite the car buyer will probably be a thing of the past.

For a guy of my gen, my first Auto Show was the first AutoExpo in Delhi. Probably 92 if I remember right. Never before had I seen so many "Imported" cars up close. It was the first time I ever saw a Pajero, Mustang, Maserati, Jaguar in metal & glass.

My friends & I returned time & again during the show to lust after the cars. Thinking someday we will drive these cars. Cut to the present. My kids don't understand the big fuss around cars. As for me, my instinct is to reach for the ubiquitous app than my car keys.

Still, I feel sad that auto shows are probably headed the way of dinosaurs.

[GTO]

Agreed with laser2707.

Not just Frankfurt, but all auto shows are slowly & steadily becoming irrelevant. Thanks to the internet, car manufacturers can easily disseminate videos, pics & data of any new car launch / unveil / concept all over the world in a matter of seconds. Many also prefer to host their own events, instead of fighting for 15 minutes of press time on a crowded auto show day. Let's not forget just how many manufacturers have started bunking the Auto Expo in India.

From the fan's side, for the majority, far better ways of checking out cars exist. Of course, some purists like us will always exist who like the big & flashy auto shows, but clearly, our numbers are dwindling. Sure doesn't help that millennials & Gen Z are less interested in cars.

[tanuj_afc]

Right! Now this is a worry for me. I am seriously planning to attend the auto expo in New Delhi. I am on the verge of getting my flight tickets done to. Can anyone tell me if it's worth to attend the auto expo?? This will be my first time though

[ajmat]

I don't see an end but I see some changes. You still need these expos.

Where else do you get to :

• Network with industry peers
• Display concept cars and seek feedback
• Senior management get to observe public reaction to both their products as well as competitors
• Pick up direct product feedback from the public which indifferent dealers do not always convey
• Manage brand image

Some places like Geneva, it is a one stop shop for a HNI. He can visit Bentley and get an idea about custom options for the next Continental. Visit JLR and look at the new Defender.

He can then go and spoil himself and the products by visiting and commissioning Mansory or Kahn to bling them up all in one morning!

The changes that could happen

1: Reduce EXPO fees
2: Make EXPO's more focussed to particular segments
3: Combine with some events - perhaps have the Consumer electronic events during the same time (that's where cars are going!)
4: Like F1 - the host city holds side events to get visitors and tourists in

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I don't see an end but I see some changes. You still need these expos.

I agree because while we can argue that the internet has increased the access of the general public to cars instead of needing to head to the nearest showroom or car show, I think it is still hard to get the general feel of a car without interacting with it up close. And unlike showrooms, it is actually possible to compare cars from different brands under the same roof! Just wish they didn’t charge such high fees, especially the European ones like the Frankfurt and Geneva motor shows.

I suppose tech like VR could change this but I still think car shows will evolve rather than disappear!

[.HEM]

I'm visiting Frankfurt Book Fair every year, starting 2015. Last year on my return to airport, I had a chat with a German taxi driver. He said, he can feel the number of people visiting the fairs each year is declining and his business is the first to be affected. He also said it is not just for "Buch Messe" (book fair) but for all the fairs that happen in Frankfurt.

One of my clients who had a "HUGE" stall all these years have not erected a stand this year and have asked me to visit them in the hotel they stay.

So we can well say the fate is uncertain not just for auto show, but for many verticals.

[VaidhiR]

I dont think the IAA, or any other auto expo for that matter, will die anytime. Sure, it has reduced drastically. But its only reacting to the trend of the industry with which it is associated.

The industry is undergoing seismic changes. Companies are moving away from traditional combustion engines and are experimenting with disruptive trends like autonomous driving, e-mobility, IoT and horizontal/vertical/diagonal connectivity. Experimentation with drivetrain alternatives to electric motor are being undertaken. Suppliers are developing technologies at a wrapspeed that only the industry can keep up with. For a normal consumer, it will be impossible to look and make sense of it.

The car companies and suppliers are at a point in time, where they are developing such trends internally and dont have much to show. Or even dont want to show for strategic reasons. Their ICE automobile are seen as polluting, obsolete and orthodox. The disruptive automobile is seen as nascent, immature and conceptual.

So unless the companies come up with a concept thats mature enough to be shown to the world, or a concept that the consumers look up to and comprehend the importance, I dont think the companies will want to invest in displaying them to the general public.

And until that happens, the amount of participants in such expos, and by extention the auto expo going crowd, will only reduce. Everywhere. But its not going to be permanent. Its only a blip.

[vivekz]

I was there at Frankfurt Auto Show this year and I did get the sense that information wise it did not have a lot new to offer.

On the personal front, I did get the change to get close and personal with some hot machines (e.g. McLaren GT, Lambos, AMGs of the world) which in comparison are not so accessible in Indian auto shows - they are generally cordoned off or have too much rush. And you do get to see some cars which may be more accessible globally and even later on in India like Skoda Scala, Kamiq etc. But the importance of all this keeps getting lost after a while. There were hardly any vehicles which I had not had enough knowledge of before going to the show. E.g. the new Defender - I felt I knew enough about it before going that it did not seem like novelty anymore. The worst I felt was the Audi stand, a dozen or more vehicles one after the other with special editions of RS5, RS6, RS 7...and given the engineering and design language these days there was hardly any difference to hold any attention. More or less true for most manufacturers.

So maybe the traditional approach of showing all of your on-road vehicle collection won't hold a lot of interest going forward unless its a significant new launch.

What actually got my attention and interest were the displays and experience centers outside the halls. There were demo for electric vehicles and autonomous tech which you could touch and feel and experience. You could get into a mini-track and try out one of the electric vehicles from a host of Nissan's, Hyundai's, Tesla's, etc. And you could get into a fully autonomous vehicle (no steering or driver seat) which will take you through a path while dodging regular obstacles. I think in the previous years we used to have these concept cars, the future attraction will be these new technologies.

I feel these may not attract the masses anymore but will be a stronger pull for the enthusiasts. Like most things tech, eventually auto companies will need to attract these enthusiasts to be early adopters before they go mass market with a something new. As some people have suggested here, auto shows may become platforms for getting the first hand feedback from this target group so they will survive but the scale and focus will need to evolve.

[Romeo_Mike]

I think it was JLR who said it out loud that they will avoid showcasing concepts that they intend to build at auto shows, to prevent Chinese imitations beating their own products to the market.

Though that's just one automaker, it provides some context regarding dipping popularity of auto shows. Auto shows give us a glimpse of what's coming. If automakers shy away from doing so, its not hard to imagine why these events will become increasingly irrelevant.

[Abhejit]

Definitely see the B2B component of auto shows grow bigger than the B2C, but even that has limitations because a carmaker/business owner can reach out to exponentially higher number of vendors on an Indiamart, for example, than at an auto expo.

India's auto expo has always faced this criticism that they charge a bomb for space, and quite a few auto companies/OEMs stay away because of that. In a globally depressed auto sector, it would be more and more expensive for SMEs/OEMs to fly to an Auto show which doesn't even guarantee they'll get deals.

Do feel such shows have an opportunity to scale up its R&D component. For example, host a car designing contest for civilians, invite research papers and ideas from students which can be presented there, display innovations made by auto enthusiasts or entrepreneurs, etc.

Also, I do see auto shows get smaller and smaller. In India, in parallel, performance shows seem to getting more popular, especially in tier 2 and 3 towns.

[vj123]

Any auto show is interesting for the first time but over years, it gets repetitive and people lose interest.

Detroit auto show is planning to add more interactive elements rather than just displays from the auto manufacturers. The organizers are expecting more participation with this change.

Here is a link to that news: https://www.wxyz.com/news/detroit-au...hroughout-city