Automechanika Frankfurt concluded on 15th September following five trade fair days with a record number of exhibitors, more visitors than in 2016 and a new record for the amount of exhibition space. The event drew 136,000 trade visitors from 181 countries. Of these, approximately 10,000 were at the event for the first time. The megatrends at the fair were digitisation, clean vehicles and classic cars.
Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, commented: “The 25th Automechanika Frankfurt was the biggest and most international event in its history. From 11th to 15th September 2018, more than 5,000 companies presented their new products and solutions in an area of approx. 315,000 m². The feedback from our customers has been unmistakable: never before has the Automechanika Frankfurt fair been so focused on the future. All areas of the automotive aftermarket – industry, retail and workshops – have responded to megatrends that include connected cars, networked workshops and clean vehicles, offering an amazing range of innovations for the international group of professionals in attendance these past few days. In all 23 exhibition hall levels and in the outdoor exhibition area, things were really buzzing.”
Michael Söding, CEO Automotive Aftermarket at Schaeffler AG, summed the event up: “It has been the best week of the year.” Numerous suppliers showcased the future of vehicle repair, including augmented reality, and a number of them did so in the form of workshops, such as Bosch. Manfred Baden, President of the Automotive Aftermarket Division at Robert Bosch GmbH, considered the trade fair to have been a huge success: “Automechanika continues to be the most important trade fair for the aftermarket worldwide.”
This year saw a total of 120 submissions for the Automechanika Innovation Awards. Award-winners included new LED aftermarket solutions. Louise Eriksson, Global Head of Sales Marketing AM at OSRAM: “As the international flagship fair for the aftermarket, Automechanika offers us the perfect platform on which to present our product highlights and innovations to a wide audience. We are particularly proud of the Automechanika Innovation Award.”
Frank Beaujean, ASA President, was full of praise for the quality of visitors: “The vast majority of visitors came to Frankfurt well prepared, and our members enjoyed good professional talks with them. One thing that was particularly notable was the number of decision-makers here, something that applies to visitors from Germany, as well as from abroad.”
Olaf Mußhoff, Director of Automechanika Frankfurt, highlighted the synergies between workshop services and tyres: “It’s quite simple: Tyres belong at Automechanika. For many workshops, bringing tyre and automotive services together in one place and dealing with the associated technical changes poses a huge challenge. That is why we will continue to invest in this area.”
Yet new technologies were at the forefront in more than just the fields of parts and workshops. Paint manufacturers such as Sherwin-Williams from the USA, which was making its first-ever appearance at an Automechanika trade fair worldwide, used virtual reality to present new products and a new training app.
The next Automechanika Frankfurt is scheduled to take place from 8th to 12th September 2020.
