From 10 to 14 September, the international automotive industry will be getting together at the leading industry event in Frankfurt. Participants from more than 170 countries are expected to be on hand for the five-day trade fair, including some 4,200 exhibitors from industry, workshops and trade. This year’s event is focusing on the topics of electrification, sustainability, digitalisation, connectivity, AI and recruitment.
Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, summed it up like this: “Ever since this event was launched more than 50 years ago, Automechanika in Frankfurt has provided an opportunity to take stock of the automotive industry and all of its segments. The programme has more to offer than ever before and features all the most important trends and developments in the industry today. Multiple stages will be showcasing topics like electric vehicle repair, the use of AI in dealerships and workshops, cybersecurity, alternative drive technologies, 3D printing, the circular economy, young talents and recruitment in the automotive industry, e-commerce and new business models in the classic car business.”
Braun believes that the automotive industry is continuing to innovate at breakneck pace: “The fact that we have received a record number of submissions for the Innovation Awards even as we are experiencing a digital transformation is a very positive sign. In addition to these eight awards, including in categories such as E-Mobility & Innovative Drive Technologies, Workshop & Service Solutions, Commercial Vehicles, and Data & Connectivity, we will be giving a Green Award to a product that is especially sustainable.”
There are many products and solutions from the field of e-mobility to discover. More than 650 of the exhibiting companies state that they have electric vehicle competence. Nearly a dozen Chinese manufacturers are exhibiting their electric vehicles in Hall 12.1 in order to get to know new international business partners for repairs, maintenance and service.
Exhibitors here include GEELY HOLDING GROUP, with the brands GEELY AUTO，LYNK & CO and ZEEKR, and other manufacturers like BYD, AVATR, HONGQI, DFSK, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), JAC, FUTURUS, JENESS, FZB, PEGASUS and Elaris.
At the ‘Future Mobility Park’, a test and experience circuit (Agora, outdoor area) supported by BYD, Elexon, Pirelli and B&M Marketing, trade fair visitors can experience new mobility solutions, alternative drives and innovative technologies live. Test drives are also possible. One of the highlights is an e-van that has already set a world record: equipped with innovative drive technology and powered entirely by solar energy, this vehicle has already scaled Earth’s highest volcano.
In addition to electrification and decarbonisation, companies in the aftermarket must deal with developments such as increasing digitalisation, the use of AI, new business and sales models like e-commerce, and also the shortage of skilled staff. Automechanika offers a stage for these topics – and uses its special showcases, the Automechanika Academy and topic-specific networking lounges to provide platforms where people can pursue professional development, speak with experts and network.
Fair highlights in detail:
CEO Breakfast with Dr. Pierluigi Collina
The trade fair kicks off with the CEO Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on 10 September. Sponsored by Continental, PPG, Schaeffler and ZF, the event features the legendary football referee Dr. Pierluigi Collina. In this ‘fireside chat’ format, he will share some of the exciting highlights from his career as a referee. This will be followed by a high-quality CEO Talk with representatives from Schaeffler, Continental, PPG and ZF.
Automechanika Innovation Awards
The Automechanika Innovation Awards ceremony will be taking place in the Congress Center at 5:00 p.m. on the first day of the trade fair. A total of 153 products and solutions were submitted in nine categories for this year’s awards, and it will be interesting to see which of the 42 companies nominated are able to take home an award. All of the nominated and winning products will be presented in Hall 3.0.
AMBITION
As part of Automechanika, the new AMBITION event format invites Generation Z to experience the future of mobility up close. Under the motto ‘What’s up next…’, visitors can expect an exciting programme: from gaming to eSports, hypercars to influencers and creators, AMBITION will showcase the entire range of topics that interest GenZ today. There will also be exciting panels, talks and workshops. On three evenings, from Wednesday to Friday, there will be parties and live acts, including US hip-hop artist Rich The Kid on Thursday evening. The e-athletes from Eintracht Frankfurt and the MYLE Festival will also be providing action. Autograph sessions and meet & greets will be available from GERcollector, Schaefchen and Sidney Hoffmann, among others. Admission to AMBITION is free (Tickets under ambition.automechanika.com).
Breaking new ground in automotive marketing
As part of Ambition a high-quality panel discussion will be addressing such topics as: Conventional dealerships, new agency models or direct sales: which are proving more popular? Are today’s young people still tomorrow’s customers? And what role is being played by in-car entertainment and mobile offices? Leading representatives of car manufacturers like Geely, Genesis and Mercedes will be here to discuss the challenges they face in marketing and sales. (Organiser: Marketing Club Frankfurt, 10 September, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Hall 3.1 E11)
Sustainability Court
This marks the first time that there is a networking area with its own stage programme devoted solely to topics like sustainability in production, the supply chain and the circular economy. The third Remanufacturing Day will take place on trade fair Wednesday in cooperation with the internationally respected Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA).
Innovation4Mobility – a high-quality expert forum
The high-quality expert forum Innovation4Mobility in Hall 3.0 is the place to go for innovative topics and technologies in the field of future mobility at Automechanika. Recognised experts discuss topics and technologies – including some that are not yet ready for widespread use – that are entailed by the transition in the automotive industry: e-mobility, vehicle-integrated photovoltaics, bidirectional charging, sustainable fuels, automotive hydrogen, connectivity, AI in vehicles, and software-defined vehicles are among the topics that will be addressed here.
‘Workshop of the future’ special showcase
The ‘Workshop of the future’ special showcase is being organised in close cooperation with the ZDK (Zentralverband Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe) and the Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0 (Future Mobility Workshop 4.0) of the Institute for the Automotive Industry (IfA). In this area in Hall 9.0, trade visitors can enjoy an interactive experience of future technologies for the workshop and gain a glimpse of what their business will look like in future. The focus is on topics like artificial intelligence, robotics, extended reality (XR), automation and digitalisation.
E-Commerce
The E-Commerce Lounge hosted by eBay Motors in hall 2 (Festhalle), trade visitors will find various players from the fields of online retail and e-commerce. During the presentation programme, the audience will have the chance to hear the experts talk about how to successfully enter online retail or optimise their existing online activities. They will also be presenting and discussing some of the latest trends, including D2C (direct-to-consumer), remanufacturing and process automation.
Supply Chain Fight Club: People versus AI
Automechanika works with LogisticNetwork Consultants to organise ‘fight clubs’ on the topic of “What does the future of the automotive aftermarket look like?” These explore the potential for optimisation and possible solutions for tomorrow’s logistics and supply chains: people or machines (AI) – who has the better answers? On Thursday there will be ‘fight clubs’ focusing on the future of the supply chain in the automotive aftermarket with Dr. Paulina Prantl from the Working Group for Supply Chain Services at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS and the KIRA avatar (AI with voice recognition). On Saturday a representative of Generation Z will be meeting KIRA to illuminate the topic of career opportunities and activities in the supply chain and logistics.
Women Automotive Network
On Wednesday, 11 September at 4:00 p.m., the Women Automotive Network is inviting visitors to get together and share their ideas. Founded in 2019, the international network has 34,000 members and works to support women in the automotive industry. In addition, on 12 September 2024, the Women Automotive Network is organising a talk on the Hall 8 stage. The topic: “Women in the automotive industry: How to attract and retain talent within the automotive industry”.
EMMA Car Sound Finale awards ceremony
Who has the ultimate car sound system? The answer to this question will be found on 14 September at 5:00 p.m. in the outdoor exhibition area alongside Hall 3, because Automechanika is once again hosting the German Sound Quality Finals organised by the European Mobile Media Association (EMMA). The awards panel will determine which of the approx. 80 special vehicles has the very best sound system and which one features the most professional car audio installation. The vehicles and their owners will be available to trade fair visitors for a sound check and to talk shop.
Central Asia Day
On Thursday there will be an event devoted to the attractive growth and expansion opportunities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at the Automechanika Global Stand in the Foyer of Hall 4.1. Companies from all sectors of the automotive aftermarket who are looking to make their first business contacts in Central Asia and find out more about this dynamic market are invited to take part in the very first Automechanika Tashkent from 23 to 25 October 2024.
Automechanika Lovers programme
Exhibiting companies that have taken part in multiple Automechanika trade fairs worldwide over the past two years will be honoured at the Automechanika Global Stand as part of the ‘Automechanika Lovers’ programme launched in September 2022. Plans are already being made to continue and expand this programme.