The Frankfurt Motor Show dates back to 1951, but the traditional has come to an end.



The situation is a bit complicated, but the biennial event is actually the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA) Frankfurt Motor Show which is organized by the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) or German Association of the Automotive Industry. Long story short, their contract with the Messe Frankfurt event center expired last year.

In October, the IAA announced they were developing a new concept for the 2021 show. They didn’t elaborate, but said they wanted to make the event more attractive to automakers who skipped last year’s show. As part of this effort, the organization confirmed they were considering alternative locations but stated “Frankfurt is still in the running.”

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Fast forward to last week, and seven cities pitched their idea for IAA 2021. Among the contenders were Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich and Stuttgart.

VDA managing director Dr. Martin Koers said there was a “lot of interest” in hosting the event and the proposals were very creative and sophisticated. Unfortunately, the field had to be narrowed down so “concrete contract negotiations” could begin and a final city could be selected.

In a press release today, the VDA said the presentations were evaluated extensively and the board decided the finalists should be Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. As a result, the ‘Frankfurt’ Motor Show will no longer be held in Frankfurt.

The VDA says the winning city should be announced in the “next few weeks.” In the meantime, they’ll hold further talks with the finalists and begin contract negotiations.

There’s no word on why Frankfurt was eliminated so early in the competition, but the VDA said “The ideas and concepts of the city of Frankfurt am Main were … very impressive. However, after evaluating all relevant criteria, the IAA 2021 will no longer take place at the Frankfurt am Main trade fair location.” They went on to say this wasn’t an easy decision, but they extended their thanks to Frankfurt and Messe Frankfurt for hosting the event for so long.

H/T to Motor1