Over 60 manufacturers displaying their innovations – total of around 700 exhibitors
Wissmann: Preparations for the IAA are running at top speed
VDA President: IAA will demonstrate how firms will recover from the crisis
Frankfurt am Main, 28 April 2009. "The preparations for the 63rd IAA Cars are running at top speed. Despite the difficult global economic conditions, we are convinced that the world’s most important trade fair for mobility will once again be a success because this IAA will present an impressive display of innovations and will be a trade fair for those who will shape the future and emerge from the crisis stronger than before. This is the only place where visitors will find answers to the challenges posed by the crisis,” stressed Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). The 63rd IAA Cars will take place in Frankfurt am Main from 17 to 27 September 2009 and will be opened by the Chancellor, Dr. Angela Merkel. It will be preceded by two Press Days (15 and 16 September). Over 60 automotive manufacturers from all around the globe will be presenting their world premieres at the IAA, and nearly all the major brands will be attending again.
For the first time BMW will display its products on a larger area in the new Hall 11. First-time visitors to the trade show are the manufacturers Fisker, Lotus, Tesla and Wiesmann. Wissmann expressed his regret that a few Japanese brands will not be at this year’s IAA due to their companies’ especially problematic business situation – and the same applies to the GM subsidiaries Cadillac and Chevrolet. But he underscored that "In comparison to the record year 2007, the number of exhibiting manufacturers is down by only 8 per cent. This means that the IAA is doing much better than the automotive market as a whole, which this year is expected to shrink by 16 per cent worldwide to well below 50 million units.”
In the first quarter of 2009 the US market collapsed by 38 per cent, and a slump of 25 per cent is expected over the whole year. In the first three months passenger car sales in Western Europe fell by 16 per cent; if one excludes the German market, which has been buoyed up by the scrapping bonus, the figure is actually a fall of 24 per cent. In the first quarter the Japanese car market lost 23 per cent. By contrast, the markets expanded in China (by 4 per cent), India (2 per cent) and Brazil (4 per cent).
"So this IAA will take place in a particularly difficult year. The worldwide credit and finance crisis, which started in the USA, is having huge effects on the manufacturing sector, especially on companies’ employment, turnover, sales and profits. The extent of the collapse on the global market cannot be compared to any other recession since the War. For the first time, virtually all the relevant markets have ‘gone into reverse’,” Wissmann said.
"However, we regard the crisis as an opportunity. In view of tighter marketing budgets it is obvious that the companies are concentrating on the major trade fairs. And the IAA is benefiting from this trend, the VDA president emphasized, adding that no other trade fair gets more media coverage. The IAA’s stable position is pointed up by the fact that many smaller passenger car trade fairs such as Athens, Buenos Aires, Bucharest, Johannesburg, London and Vilnius have had to be cancelled – and for the first time the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of October will be shortened by four days, and a significant number of important international exhibitors will not be participating.
"The IAA 2009 is being held in the right place at the right time. In all probability, in September 2009 it will be apparent when we will reach or even pass the worst point of the crisis. The German automotive industry leads the world in technology. Its new products and innovations show the way out of the crisis. Furthermore, the positive market trend in Germany is supporting the entire Western European market and the subject of ‘buying a car’ has again caught people’s attention in Germany,” Wissmann stressed.
"However, owing to the global economic conditions, the IAA 2009 cannot be compared with any previous IAA. So it does not make much sense to take a purely quantitative view, as was usually the case in previous years. Instead the IAA will focus on quality,” Wissmann emphasized. "The IAA is the leading international trade fair for automotive mobility. Here we will find answers to the demands of today and the challenges of tomorrow. Therefore, the companies tackling this competition in innovation are especially well represented this year.”
The IAA headline, "A Moving Experience,” also underlines what the world’s most important trade fair for mobility is aiming for: "Visitors to the IAA will be able to experience the things ensuring sustainable mobility today. And at the same time they will see what is driving our automotive future,” Wissmann said. The IAA will showcase the continuing optimization of classical powertrains – clean diesels and supercharged gasoline engines with direct injection – and also progress in vehicle electrification, ranging from the mild hybrid to pure electric propulsion. Alongside the consistent reduction of consumption (and therefore CO2 emissions, too), the focus will be on new types of driver assistance systems that make driving even safer and more comfortable.
Almost all the major suppliers, including Schaeffler and Continental, have registered for the IAA. As a service provider the VDA has reacted to the economic difficulties of many suppliers and provided flexible options for them to take part in the IAA even in these tough times. Some suppliers are using the opportunity for presentations on the first four exhibition days, or else taking advantage of the "showroom concept” to participate in the trade fair.
Overall, the VDA expects around 700 exhibitors; registrations are still being accepted. "In view of the difficult overall situation in the industry, this is a very secure starting position for a successful IAA,” Wissmann stressed. The total 170,000 sq m of exhibition space is down by about one quarter on the very high figure from the last IAA Cars.
