With IAA Mobility (2025, 9.-14. September, Munich), one of the world’s largest automotive and mobility trade shows continues its transformation – from a traditional auto show hosted exclusively on a trade fairground, to a hybrid experience platform that integrates its host city and the public more deeply, offering a truly holistic take on the topic of mobility. In 2025, IAA Mobility in Munich demonstrates how traditional boundaries can be broken – between exhibition and experience, between city and convention center, and between trade professionals and the general public.
So what makes this concept so special? Here’s the analysis from the EventMasterBook.com editorial team.
From Auto Show to Mobility Platform
IAA Mobility 2025 evolves the traditional auto show into a Mobility Summit for professionals, while simultaneously opening up an "Open Space" experience for the general public. This hybrid concept – combining indoor and outdoor spaces for both B2B and B2C audiences – connects people and perspectives. In doing so, it contributes meaningfully to shaping the future of mobility.
A Public Platform for Participation
In central Munich, publicly accessible areas feature test tracks, exhibitor spaces, and interactive zones. This enables broad public engagement with a topic of high societal relevance: Mobility.
Key Success Factors of the IAA Mobility Concept
Accessibility & Experience-Driven Design
The Open Space is free and open to everyone – no ticket required. It includes numerous interactive offerings (e.g., test drives with electric cars, e-bikes, e-scooters) as well as family-friendly activities tailored for children.
Integration of Public Space
Munich’s public infrastructure – squares, streets, and parks – is transformed into a city-wide event experience, offering citizens access to mobility showcases, cultural performances, music, and food experiences.
Event Within an Event
The "Munich Festival of Lights", a spin-off of the Berlin Festival of Lights, adds a cultural highlight to the program. Light art and audiovisual shows projected onto historic buildings arouse public attention beyond the regular trade show schedule.
Dialogue & Future-Focused Debates
New dialogue formats like the "Citizens Lab" provide a platform for discussion among urban planners, politicians, researchers, and residents about sustainable urban mobility and its future. This new format encourages active civic participation.
Multimodal Mobility Integration
It’s not just about cars. The IAA Mobility presents e-bikes, e-scooters, public transport solutions, and Smart City models as equal pillars of the mobility landscape – creating a nuanced and inclusive picture of future mobility.
What Event Managers Can Learn from IAA Mobility’s Innovative Format
1. Rethink Spatial Boundaries
IAA Mobility proves that trade shows don’t have to be confined to exhibition halls. Events that spill into urban spaces create visibility, reach new audiences, and engage people who wouldn’t typically attend a traditional industry expo.
2. Prioritize Experience Over Passive Information
Today’s attendees want to experience, test, and engage, not just observe. Interactive zones, live demos, and hands-on activities drive emotional engagement – which is more memorable than passive content.
3. Lower Barriers to Entry
Free and accessible experiences like the Open Space reduce entry thresholds and attract more diverse audience segments – families, young people, tech enthusiasts, and curious citizens who might not otherwise attend.
4. Event-Within-Event: Light Art to Broaden Appeal
Attractions like the Festival of Lights boost media reach and cross-pollinate audiences. Culture and art make tech and science more approachable, sparking curiosity among broader audiences.
5. Participation Builds Goodwill
Formats that invite the audience to contribute – such as the Citizens Lab – create emotional ties and yield valuable insights for organizers and stakeholders alike.
6. Multisensory Engagement
Even the most innovative products need more than just display booths. Tastes, sounds, visuals, surprises, and immersive environments create memorable, lasting impact – making trade shows more than just transactional spaces.
7. Show the Future
Trade shows shouldn’t only reflect the current state of a sector – they must also inspire visions for the future. Highlight achievements, show what’s possible, and empower audiences to imagine and shape what’s next.
Challenges to Consider
Despite its success, a hybrid concept like IAA Mobility faces key challenges:
Logistics & Safety: Incorporating public spaces means complex planning for traffic flow, permits, security, and crowd management.
City Coordination: Close collaboration with municipal authorities, residents, and infrastructure partners is critical.
Budget & Financing: Light shows, free events, and cultural offerings come at a cost. Sponsorships, public funding, or strategic partners are essential for financial sustainability.
Audience Segmentation: Not all visitors have the same interests. A well-balanced and segmented program ensures acceptance and satisfaction across diverse target groups.
Sustainability: Particularly for a mobility-focused show, it’s important to practice what you preach – with sustainable operations, energy use, materials, and transport. IAA Mobility features a comprehensive sustainability concept.
Substance Over Spectacle: Experience is crucial – but content depth and credibility must not be sacrificed. Especially for future-defining topics, audiences need real innovations, viable solutions, and spaces for meaningful exchange – such as large-scale workshops, labs, and impactful keynotes.
Editorial Conclusion
Since moving from Frankfurt to Munich, the revamped IAA Mobility has faced mixed reactions. Yet from a professional standpoint, the organizers have delivered a genuine trade show innovation with real potential and added value.
IAA Mobility sets a new benchmark – expanding the impact of a special-interest show through spatial extension, public engagement, interactive experiences, cultural integration, and multisensory design.
The organizers are tuned into the times: what was once a conventional auto show is now a platform for collective experiences and public dialogue around a topic that affects us all: mobility.
This concept could be highly relevant and inspirational for other trade shows looking to broaden their scope and societal impact.
Cover Image: IAA Mobility 2025, Key Visual, Press Photo (Source: www.iaa-mobility.com)
Related Topics: IAA Mobility 2025, Munich, trade show concept, innovative trade show formats, new trade fair approaches, hybrid event, industry trade show, summit, public event, open space, B2B and B2C exhibition, auto show, car exhibition, urban mobility, alternative mobility concepts, mobility trade fair, new mobility solutions, sustainability, event concept, trade fair concept, sustainable events, sustainable trade shows, connection, networking, breaking boundaries
Summary: IAA Mobilty Recap (by EventMasterBook.com) – IAA Mobility 2025 bridges interests through a hybrid exhibition and experience-driven concept. The organizers demonstrate a strong sense of contemporary relevance and present a best-practice example of a new generation of (industry) trade shows and product showcases.
Please note: This text was translated from the German EventMasterBook.de Event Magazine (see article: Innovative Messekonzepte – Das Konzept der IAA Mobility 2025). Please excuse any translation errors.
