Germany’s revamped IAA auto show, one of the world’s largest, is to open in Munich tomorrow for a celebration of all things vehicle-related, but climate concerns and COVID-19 pandemic woes threaten to spoil the party.
After a disappointing edition in 2019, marred by environmental protests, poor visitor numbers and no-shows from major automakers, the event, which occurs every two years, has reinvented itself as a “mobility fair” with a spotlight on electric vehicles, scooters and even bicycles.
Historically held in Frankfurt, the IAA is for the first time to take place in the Bavaria state capital of Munich as part of efforts to revive the event. The six-day fair is scheduled to be one of the largest exhibitions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, coming just as Germany grapples with a fourth wave of infections.
Photo: AFP
To reduce infection risk, daily visitor numbers are capped at 80,000 and guests must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, recovery or a recent negative test report before entering.
Confirming a trend seen at auto shows around the world, many well-known brands are again skipping the showcase, chief among them Stellantis NV, with its brands Peugeot, Fiat and Chrysler, as well as Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp.
Also absent is leading electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, leaving IAA organizers to hope that this year’s more than 70 bicycle exhibitors can keep audiences satisfied — and attract new ones.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is bowing out of politics after a general election on Sept. 26, is scheduled to give a speech tomorrow when the fair opens to trade visitors.
Once known as the “car chancellor” for her efforts to shield German automakers from tougher EU pollution rules, the veteran leader is likely to touch on the industry’s costly transition toward greener engines, even if critics say change is not happening fast enough.
Climate campaigners have vowed to disrupt the IAA by staging protests on Friday and Saturday, when the general public is invited. Similar “civil disobedience” rallies at times blocked access to the IAA in Frankfurt in 2019, leaving visitors waiting outside for hours.
The threat of legal action against polluters also hangs over the fair, after Greenpeace and Germany’s DUH environmental group last week threatened to file lawsuits against Volkswagen AG (VW), BMW AG and Daimler AG if they do not speed up efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
The plaintiffs want the German vehicle giants to stop producing diesel or gasoline engines by 2030, saying that their current pledges for electrification are vague and nonbinding.
The plaintiffs are emboldened by landmark court decisions in favor of climate protection, including a German verdict that forced the Merkel administration to commit to faster carbon reduction so as not to place an unfair burden on future generations.
The health crisis has meanwhile left its mark on the industry in other ways.
While automakers initially recovered quickly from last year’s showroom and factory shutdowns, a pandemic-fueled surge in demand for home electronics led to a global shortage in computer chips that threatens to slow the vehicle industry’s recovery.
The semiconductor crunch has forced automakers worldwide to trim production, including at General Motors Co, VW and Stellantis.
As a result, sales are expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels for a while longer.
In Germany, Europe’s top economy, new vehicle registrations were down 23 percent year-on-year last month. In France, they were 15 percent lower.
In China, the world’s largest vehicle market, sales have “clearly lost momentum,” industry analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer said.
Although automakers are increasingly unveiling new models online, exhibitors are saving a few surprises for the IAA.
VW is debuting its plug-in hybrid T7 multivan, while its Audi subsidiary is to offer a fully electric sedan with semi-autonomous driving functions.
Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler is launching a battery-powered luxury Maybach concept car. The group’s Smart brand is to show off a small electric sports utility vehicle (SUV).
BMW plans to present a hydrogen-powered SUV, as well as its vision for a fully recyclable electric vehicle made entirely from recycled material and renewable resources.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six