Tesla Faces Chinese Offensive at IAA

Originally based in Frankfurt, the IAA Mobility, one of the largest auto shows in the world, began this Monday in Munich amidst a fight between Tesla and the rest of the world.

Previously the largest auto show in the world by area, the IAA was organized in Frankfurt every two years from 1951 to 2019. You probably know it better as the Frankfurt Motor Show. Due to a constant decline in attendance and repeated absences of major European manufacturers, the city of Frankfurt finally threw in the towel, and Munich was chosen in 2020 to take over.

After a 4-year hiatus, the IAA reopened its doors this morning, but the festivities started last week thanks to that rascal Elon Musk. How to ensure you’re the star of the show? Just reveal your new model 4 days before the public opening. On Thursday night to Friday, the new Tesla Model 3 was unveiled online. The news spread like wildfire, overshadowing the desperate attempts of other manufacturers to tease upcoming presentations with a thick media smoke screen. Mercedes, BMW, Renault, and Volkswagen, to name a few, spent the weekend trying to catch up and made numerous revelations. Communication is an art in which Tesla excels.

The IAA opened to the press this morning before welcoming the public tomorrow, and what can we find there?

The German automakers Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes are thankfully present in full force. This was anyway a non-negotiable condition imposed by the city of Munich to host the show. At BMW, they are showcasing the new “Neue Klasse” model range consisting of six upcoming models, and the new iDrive interface. Mercedes’ CLA concept and Volkswagen’s ID. GTI. We are doing our jobs quietly and properly, but those times of enormous stands showcasing multiple models and ranges are long gone.

Opel is going wild with the Ami base and Renault is presenting its new Scenic. It’s all about Stellantis and the French brands in particular.

Tesla Superstar

Tesla has therefore taken all the spotlight by unveiling the new iteration of its best-selling Model 3. This allows ignoring the fact that more than one-third of the exhibitors are Chinese, and nearly half are Asian! With India preparing to join the party, Europeans face the urgent need to accelerate their pace.

Donfeng, Geely, BYD, Leapmotor,… Just like at the Paris Motor Show, Chinese manufacturers are omnipresent and leading an astonishing pace of vehicle development. Lotus and MG, among others, under Chinese ownership, use this platform to showcase particularly attractive Roadsters and sedans.

In the end, it’s certain that the global automotive landscape revolves around three main axes: Europe, China, and Tesla. The American brand is not fond of large shows and prefers to limit physical appearances, relying on a well-established digital communication strategy. However, beware—Tesla does not follow the crowd; it displays its models outdoors at Königsplatz in Munich on a small 200m2 stand, not inside the exhibition park. While the Tesla Model Y leads European sales and the Model 3 is set to break records, Tesla is applying infernal pressure on traditional European automakers who really didn’t need it. The sharp decline of Aiways proves that there’s no room for everyone, and as such, this Munich IAA’s outcome will be closely watched.