Looking at IAA 2024 with the utmost confidence. Exclusive interview with VDA president, Hildegard Müller

Perhaps, it’s not the best time for the German automotive industry, between a complicated energy transition, and challenging market trends. However, our very pleasant conversation with Frau Hildegard Müller, quite long-time President of the VDA, about the incoming IAA Transportation was full of optimism.

At the International Press Workshop, we had the feeling that you, as organizers, are quite confident about this year’s edition. Are we right? How is the preparation to IAA Transportation 2024 going?

We are very confident about this year’s edition. The preparation is in full swing, and we’ve been able to implement several innovations based on feedback from the previous years. The last edition in 2022 was a huge success, with around 133,000 visitors from over 72 countries. Two years ago, 97 percent of the more than 1,400 exhibitors came from 42 countries, so we are very satisfied with the participation and the opportunity to use this event for sharing information and experiences in different countries.

IAA 2024: high expectations

Do you expect to increase the rate of foreign visitors to the next IAA Transportation 2024?

Two years ago, the share of foreign trade visitors achieved a good value of 30 percent despite the ongoing pandemic situation. In 2022, 73 percent of foreign trade visitors came from Europe, followed by 10 percent from South, East, and Central Asia, and 5 percent each from the Near/Middle East and South and Central America. The analysis of out ticket sales shows that the trend is quite positive, this year too. China, Japan, the U.S. or Turkey, and even Australia join some major European countries in the top-ten nations. This shows how global this event is.

If you had to pick three big changes in this year’s exhibition, compared to two years ago, what would you mention?

We have an even stronger focus on sustainable transport solutions, including innovative propulsion systems like hydrogen and electromobility. Another keypoint is the expansion of the conference program to provide insights and discussions on the current developments. I believe it’s very important for the B2B community to exchange ideas. Also, I’d like to emphasize the important topic of charging infrastructure. Nowadays, everywhere in the logistics sector having a thorough ecosystem of charging and refueling stations, grids, and so on is a key element.

Finally, we’ll highlight the IAA Drivers and Family Weekend by which we want to address the key players of our industry, paying the right attention to and give them recognition for what they do.

“Truck drivers play a central role in the transportation industry”

What’s VDA doing to attract a higher number of professional truck drivers? Why is it important for you to have a close connection with truck drivers, in particular?

At the end, it’s all about the customers. It’s not easy to bring the opportunities of electromobility to the customers, starting from the passenger car sector, as we know. Truck drivers play a central role in the transportation industry, as their experience is very important. That’s why we thought of special events, training programs, and so on during this year’s exhibition.

Let’s talk about energy transition. Can we say that, compared to two years ago, the attention to hydrogen in the trucking sector is growing? Have you received more requests from hydrogen-related companies?

In the VDA we are deeply convinced we must take into consideration all the available technologies. We want to reach the climate goals with the best technologies, which will be decided by the market. Hydrogen, as a technology, is steadily increasing. We have also the debate in Germany whether hydrogen is competitive nowadays, but we think it’s a good opportunity for the future.

Hydrogen plays a primary role in the conference program. In addition, several hydrogen-related companies will be presenting their latest technological developments and products at IAA. There will also be a hydrogen refueling station at the exhibition ground. We see that the demand regarding hydrogen is getting stronger from our perspective.

Let the market decide

What about biofuels, and e-fuels? Will they get the same attention?

We need synthetic fuels, and even biofuels, for the current energy transition. Also, we must support the research, and then let the market, not the politicians, decide what’s the best way. Politicians give the climate goals; the market should decide the way those goals are met.

Some people say that smaller, more agile and B2B-oriented exhibitions are more suitable for the current business scenario. Do you agree with this idea, or do you believe that a few large international events will keep their importance also in the future? In other words, how do you imagine the next editions of IAA?

We are convinced that smaller, specialized events can join large, international flagships such as IAA in the future. They complement each other. Especially in today’s interconnected world and industries, large events are very important and comprehensive, also fostering global partnerships. For the future, we envision a dynamic format that may take the best out of the two exhibition concepts.