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If a traditional auto show merged with CES, it'd look like this week-long event, complete with new tech, Chinese EVs, and microcars
By: Andrew McCredie -- Driving.ca
Is it a car show or is it a tech show? That's the big question being asked of shows like IAA Mobility 2023, which is taking place in Munich this week. Even prior to the pandemic, the traditional auto show model was running out of gas, with many high-profile automakers deciding their money was better spent in other ways than the hundreds of thousands of dollars required to attend a car show.
Now on the other side of the worst of COVID-19, that trend continues. However, it seems that car shows abhor a vacuum, as there is a growing trend in shows like IAA Mobility and Fully Charged Live, which makes its Canadian debut in Vancouver September 8 through 10. These hybrid events combine traditional automaker car displays with a myriad collection of auto-related booths, most of them dealing with sustainable mobility.
So, things like EV-charging solutions, e-bikes and e-scooters, electric powertrain systems, and software designed for EVs. And some rather esoteric stuff, too. I spotted this description of a small booth at the Munich show: "Generative AI-powered AV scene search." Okay.
Walking the floor of the IAA Mobility show on press day, it struck me that the assembled journalist corps was not your typical automotive press. Yes, there were a few recognizable faces; however, there was also a large contingent of tech journalists milling about. And there was a noticeable lack of automaker execs -- hard to miss with their sharp suits and good haircuts -- replaced by casually dressed engineers and code-writers who, instead of being enthralled by horsepower and shiny objects, were geeking out on dampers, intuitive nav software, and internet-free charging alternatives.
One last thing before some takeaways from IAA Mobility: the traditional auto show hasn't taken the full count just yet, as there are promising signs that it is picking itself up from the canvas. It was just announced that the Geneva International Motor Show will return to Switzerland this coming March -- oddly, the 2023 show is being held in Qatar in October -- and both the Toronto and Vancouver shows are back on the auto-show calendar. It will be interesting to see if these shows start to integrate auto-related technology exhibits onto their show floors.
Read more HERE!
Source: 5 Coolest trends at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich | Driving
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