Analysing the biggest automotive design trends at Europe’s biggest motor show, before we head further afield – centring around the Frankfurt motor show that generated a certain amount of controversy from the start
While the headlines about IAA 2019 were mostly about climate protests and low attendance, not everything was negative within the halls of the sprawling Frankfurt Messe. There were some major production debuts at the show which made a bigger splash than the concepts and stand designs that we’re used to, and that scaling back and focus on future products really set the tone for the show as a whole.
The German brands made their presence felt in a distinctly lower-key way than in years past, but the decisions to keep the hall assignments the same as in the best days of IAA created a frustrating distance between sparsely-populated halls that symbolised the resistance of the auto industry to move forwards – even in the face of overwhelming evidence that things are changing. Yet signs that the auto industry really is changing (or trying to) were everywhere at IAA, despite first impressions to the contrary.
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