Photo: Guido Ten Brink/SB-Medien
Germany is Europe's largest car market as well as the country hosting the most prestigious car brands on the continent, if not the whole world. That makes the Frankfurt Motor Show Europe's number one automotive event of the year.
Well, there isn't a clear hierarchy and some might not agree, but anyone who has attended all three major European events (Geneva, Frankfurt, and Paris) can at least attest to the fact it is by far the largest. Getting from one end of the show to another is serious workout unless you use some of the shuttle services provided.
Apart from the actual distance, it's also the large attendance that gets in the way, so for that reason alone, you would expect carmakers to flock to such an event with their latest models or even world premieres. Instead, no fewer than nine of the big industry names have chosen to sit out of this year's edition.
The entire FCA European contingent will miss it - Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Jeep - despite the fact the former is keen on pushing its Giulia sedan and the Stelvio SUV, particularly against their German counterparts. Jeep, on the other hand, has been on the rise in Europe lately with models such as the Renegade selling particularly well.
Citroen, Peugeot, and DS make up the French group that decided against turning up, but since they don't really have anything new of importance to show and French models aren't extremely popular in Germany, maybe their decision makes a bit more sense.
Finally, the Japanese from Nissan, Infiniti, and Mitsubishi bring the total number to nine, with Nissan's decision being the most surprizing as it would have been the perfect venue for the European launch of its second-gen LEAF electric hatchback.
Looking for the Volvo stand will also prove futile as the Swedes stay true to their decision to drop out of large shows and focus on smaller events to launch their new models or concepts. That's actually a trend across the entire industry, but at the moment most brands choose to mix the two.
Despite the thinner than usual lineup, the Frankfurt Motor Show promises to bring plenty of novelties, especially for those interested to see how the EV plans of the big German brands are likely to unfold. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz all intend to show close to production concepts of their upcoming electric cars or SUVs.
Apart from the actual distance, it's also the large attendance that gets in the way, so for that reason alone, you would expect carmakers to flock to such an event with their latest models or even world premieres. Instead, no fewer than nine of the big industry names have chosen to sit out of this year's edition.
The entire FCA European contingent will miss it - Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Jeep - despite the fact the former is keen on pushing its Giulia sedan and the Stelvio SUV, particularly against their German counterparts. Jeep, on the other hand, has been on the rise in Europe lately with models such as the Renegade selling particularly well.
Citroen, Peugeot, and DS make up the French group that decided against turning up, but since they don't really have anything new of importance to show and French models aren't extremely popular in Germany, maybe their decision makes a bit more sense.
Finally, the Japanese from Nissan, Infiniti, and Mitsubishi bring the total number to nine, with Nissan's decision being the most surprizing as it would have been the perfect venue for the European launch of its second-gen LEAF electric hatchback.
Looking for the Volvo stand will also prove futile as the Swedes stay true to their decision to drop out of large shows and focus on smaller events to launch their new models or concepts. That's actually a trend across the entire industry, but at the moment most brands choose to mix the two.
Despite the thinner than usual lineup, the Frankfurt Motor Show promises to bring plenty of novelties, especially for those interested to see how the EV plans of the big German brands are likely to unfold. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz all intend to show close to production concepts of their upcoming electric cars or SUVs.
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