|
The
New Mobility World platform earned glowing marks at its debut at
IAA |
Release: IAA |
-
Successful conclusion of the New Mobility World at
the IAA
-
More than 22,000 test drives with pedelecs and
electric scooters
-
1,200 visitors ride along on test drives on the
outdoor course
-
New Mobility World originator Uwe Ansorge is very
satisfied with its debut
As VDA President Matthias Wissmann sees it, the 66th annual
International Motor Show (IAA), which is concluding today, was a
complete success, and New Mobility World made a substantial contribution
to it. “We have repositioned the IAA as the large, pivotal,
international forum for the megatrend of mobility networking and
digitization,” Wissmann said. While early in the year digitization and
automotive topics had to be covered separately at two different shows in
the United States – the CES in Las Vegas and the Detroit Auto Show – the
IAA tied them both together at a single trade fair for the first time.
With the approximately 30,000-square-meter “New Mobility World,” a
completely new exhibition area was created for this purpose in Hall 3.1
and the F12 open space. More than 180 exhibitors from a wide range of
sectors – from small startups such as Qucit, next and Parkjockey, to
global corporations such as flex, Siemens, Samsung and Deutsche Telekom
– presented themselves at the venue.
The average age of the IAA visitor was 34 years old this year – thus
well below the average age of the German population. The IAA’s audience
was three years younger than it was in 2013. That shows that cars excite
young people – especially when they are linked to a smartphone. New
Mobility World also capitalized on these trends with its numerous test
opportunities. On the indoor and outdoor course, visitors were able to
test about 60 different pedelecs, e-bikes and scooters. More than 9,000
interested persons registered for test drives with electric bicycles and
scooters. In all, more than 22,000 test drives – including those with
the electrified scooters – were taken. The response surpassed all
expectations. “The electrically powered two-wheeler is apparently
supplementing the automobile,” Wissmann said. The IAA had 920,000
visitors – a 5 percent increase, amounting to 40,000 visitors.
Uwe Ansorge, CEO of CommCode and originator of New Mobility World, which
he organized as a joint project with the VDA, viewed the results very
positively. “Our goal was to assemble the most important mobility topics
in one place to support dialog and cooperation between an extremely wide
range of sectors. Our exhibitors and partners greatly appreciated this
during the press and expert visitor days,” he said. At New Mobility
World, the focus was on five sets of themes: “Connected Car,” “Automated
Driving,” “E-Mobility,” “Urban Mobility,” and “Mobility Services.” Small
startups and providers of mobility services were able to participate as
exhibitors in eight theme parks. Ansorge was also very happy with the
days open to the general public. “New Mobility World's themes also
reached a great many private visitors who were very curious and
interested in discovering new forms of mobility.” The exhibitors of new
mobility solutions included providers of car-sharing, ride-sharing
platforms, parking-sharing and apps that simplify access to mobility and
parking services. Large crowds gathered in the E-gallery where 19
regular-production hybrid electric vehicles from a range of automakers
were on display. They included everything from luxury models such as the
Audi Q7 e-tron, the BMW i8 and the Mercedes S 500e, all the way to small
and mid-range vehicles such as the Ford Focus Electric, the Nissan Leaf
and the Kia Soul EV.
New Mobility World was a venue for many high-caliber events from
industry and the political world. For example, Wissmann and Hesse
Economics Minister Tarek Al-Wazir welcomed more than 500 press
representatives and exhibitors to Media Night. At the subsequent
discussion on current developments in the mobility sector, Philipp
Justus, Google's managing director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland,
stressed that Google is not an automaker and does not intend to become
one. Instead it is simply developing technologies for cars. The next day,
at the Executive Forum, Chris Urmson, the father of the Google Car,
explained the enormous challenges facing networked and automated driving.
“The merging of the automobile and IT is the most exciting development
of our time,” Urmson said. Carlos Tavares, CEO of PSA Peugeot Citroen,
stressed the importance of this development in terms of traffic safety.
“Automated driving will dramatically increase safety,” he said.
The high point of the more than 200 events was the meeting of the G7
transportation ministers on September 17 in the New Mobility World forum,
where Violeta Bulc and Günther Oettinger, the EU commissioners for
Transportation and Digital Infrastructure, respectively, were present.
Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s minister of Transportation and Digital
Infrastructure, officially opened New Mobility World, stressing that
people at the show were “experiencing up-close what will move the world
of tomorrow. When you see what is being exhibited, you get a feel for
how dynamically the world is changing.” He also expressed a clear goal:
Germany should become the leading provider of networked driving and the
top market for it. Four days later, Oettinger was a guest at a symposium
jointly organized by IG Metall and VDA. On that occasion, he stressed
the importance of digitization to the automobile industry. In light of
the enormous quantities of data that will have to be processed in real
time in the future, he called for the creation of a joint digital
domestic market. “Europe cannot accept dead zones. I would rather have
potholes than dead zones if we are going to shape the future,” the EU
commissioner said.
On the outdoor course, about 1,200 participants rode along in test
vehicles equipped by Bosch, Continental and ZF. At four different
stations, they experienced up-close how the latest developments in
driver assistance systems support drivers in dangerous situations. They
included partly autonomous systems assisting with emergency braking,
evasion and left turns and protecting the driver and others in traffic.
In addition to the G7 transportation ministers, Thuringia's prime
minister personally gathered information on driver assistance systems
during his visit on September 25, and was enthusiastic about the test
drives. “On the New Mobility World outdoor course, you can see the
future at work.”
Two other members of the German federal government – Vice Chancellor
Sigmar Gabriel and Dr. Johanna Wanka, the federal minister of Education
and Research – personally learned about the innovations that were on
exhibit. The activities made a very positive impression on VDA President
Wissmann: “It was the right decision strategically to have all the key
players present themselves at New Mobility World and begin an
interdisciplinary dialog. This platform is unique worldwide. It earned
glowing marks for its debut at the IAA. I'm sure that we will continue
on this path in the future.” |