Frankfurt loses 2021 Motor Show as three other German cities shortlisted

03 February 2020 Tim Urquhart

(Excerpt)

The German automotive industry association the VDA has said that the Frankfurt Motor Show will not take place in 2021, and that three other cities are in the running to showcase the country's major motor show, according to an Automotive News Europe (ANE) report. The VDA has announced that Berlin, Hamburg or Munich will instead host the show after all three cities expressed an interest and were subsequently shortlisted by the VDA.

Significance: The Frankfurt show has been a showcase for the German automotive industry for almost 70 years but last year's show was heavily criticised as a result of lack of participation from foreign OEMs, while the show was also hit by environmental protests. The fallout from these protests and the general criticism that the show received led to the resignation of the then-VDA president Bernhard Mattes led to a wholesale review of the show's future, which has led to the current situation There has been talk of turning the show into more of a practical demonstration of future mobility as well as continuing the traditional industry show element in some way. Given the fact that Berlin has become a major tech hub in recent years and has attracted many skilled young people working in the digital industries as a result, it would probably make sense to base any future show there as this is precisely the demographic the industry is looking to engage with.