Automechanika in Frankfurt Again Sets New Records at Its 20th Anniversary

The 20th anniversary of Automechanika, held biannually in Frankfurt from September 16-21, set new records in the numbers of exhibitors and visitors in 2008, once again confirming its world-leading role as the foremost international trade fair for parts, services and technologies that enable cars to perform at their finest, including parts and system; accessories and tuning parts; service station and car wash systems; repair and maintenance equipment; and IT and management technologies.

The show organizer Messe Frankfurt claimed immediately after the fair that the 2008 event set new records: more than 166,000 visitors from 146 countries and 4,680 exhibitors from 80 nations. Also global presence was also significantly higher this year, with about half of the visitors from abroad, of which new groups were Eastern Europeans and Latin Americans.

Green Theme

Clearly, the exhibitors offered wide-ranging solutions to combat "global warming and its impact on the automotive aftermarket," this year's theme at Automechanika, while visitors, industry professionals and buyers saw definite efforts made to make driving safer, cleaner and more efficient in the future.

The nations who booked the most floor space at this year's Automechanika are Germany, Italy, Taiwan, France and the Netherlands. According to the organizer, the number of exhibitors displaying "service station" and "car wash" equipment grew remarkably, with renowned companies from Germany, Italy, Spain, England, France, Israel, Russia, Croatia and Turkey being first-timers at the show. The new meeting place for global buyers and suppliers of filling station and car-wash equipment is the 30,000 square-meter Southwest Outdoor Area, which opened only recently.

No. of Exhibitors (2006/2008)
		2006		2008
German		966		960
Foreign		3,692		3,720
Total		4,658		4,680
Number of countries		72		80
Top-10 Exhibitor Nations
	No. of Exhibitors		Number in percentage		Floorage in percentage
Germany	960		21%		40%
Italy	556		12%		15%
Taiwan	475		10%		4%
China	397		9%		4%
Great Britain	202		5%		3%
Turkey	201		4%		3%
India	157		4%		2%
USA	156		3%		2%
Spain	133		3%		3%
France	124		3%		3%
Source: Messe Frankfurt (September 11, 2008)

Taiwan Retains 3rd Spot

Taiwan maintained the third-largest exhibition nation, or the second-largest foreign exhibitor at the 2008 Automechanika, the only non-European nation in the top-five list. Though the above table shows 475 exhibitors came from Taiwan, actually the number exceeded 500 for some Taiwan-based suppliers registered via foreign subsidiaries or partners, according to Messe Frankfurt's branch in Taiwan.

Product Categories & Exhibitors
Product Category	No. of Exhibitors	Number in Percentage	Floorage in Percentage
Parts & Systems	2,622	56%	43%
Repair & Maintenance Equipment	938	20%	29%
Accessories & Tuning Equipment	610	13%	13%
Service Station & Car Wash Equipment	322	7%	11%
IT & Management Systems	188	4%	4%
Source: Messe Frankfurt.

Steady Growth

The number of Taiwan-based exhibitors has been steadily growing in the past 20 years, with this year's being similar to that in 2006. This year most of the Taiwan-based exhibitors were headed by three organizations: Taiwan's China Economics News Service (CENS), a leading provider of print, event and online media for various exports, led 260 firms; Messe Frankfurt's Taiwan branch 110 suppliers; and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), a semi-official trade promoter, 65 exhibitors.

Messe Frankfurt's Taiwan branch attributed a lack of significant growth in the Taiwan-based exhibitor number this year to the strong euro-hence driving up the cost of participation-that forced smaller companies to share booths. However, the German show organizer also recognized a trend towards sharpened marketing sense: increasingly more Taiwan-based auto-parts and accessory makers are now willing to invest more to expand, and decorate booths to more effectively promote corporate image.

Green Directory

The "Green Directory" was one of the most theme-relevant showcases, presented the first time, that consists of 25 products, independently evaluated by the Fraunhofer Institute for System and Innovation Research (ISI), chosen by the organizer for ecological merits. In short, the Green Directory literally points the way to products that boast sustainable and emission-reducing features, ones that make car travel cleaner, more efficient and safer.

Automechanika Study

The first Automechanika Study was published shortly before the 2008 fair. Conducted by Dr. Ferdinand Dudenhoffer, Director of CAR, from the University of Applied Sciences, Gelsenkirchen, this comprehensive research project forecasts possible effects from climate change on the automotive aftermarket up until 2020. As such, decision makers in the automotive business look to potentially trendsetting advice on innovations that are now in the pipeline.

Automechanika Innovation Award

As always the Automechanika Innovation Award is a highlight at the trade fair, playing a vital role to update industry professionals, buyers and suppliers of the latest trends and technologies in the automotive parts and equipment industry.

This year, eight products were honored with the Innovation Award, picked from over 150 entries submitted by the exhibitors, that underline impressive developments in environmental protection; conservation of resources and sustainability; innovative content and problem-solving excellence; economic efficiency; user benefit and safety; quality; and aftermarket relevance.

Messe Frankfurt also set up the "Innovation Show," a special showcase for the winners.

Automechanika Academy: Aftermarket Forum

Business-savvy professionals again were drawn in droves to this year's Aftermarket Forum, a highly anticipated event at Automechanika that consists of various educational seminars, with the topics including: "Profiting from the dynamics of the aftermarket-how it is done!"; "The CO2 challenge;" "Dealership Management-new directions in the dealership business and how to optimize the range of services" etc.

Other seminars focused on "filling up and washing down;" special exhibitions including the "Future Technology Service Expertise" presented by the German Association for Motor Trades and Repairs, and the international campaign "Right to Repair" by the Association of the German Car Parts Trade or GVA.

According to GVA, the non-OEM automotive aftermarket employs about 3.5 million people in Europe in the production and sales of vehicle spare parts, and in the vehicle maintenance and repair segment. Some 660,000 firms are mostly small and medium sized that offer competitive prices and guarantee consumer's freedom of choice, a situation an alliance of international associations is moving at the European level to keep. Free competition must be allowed in the spares market and not be monopolized by OEM carmakers via hoarding technologies, diagnostic data and software, said GVA valiantly.

China Catching Up

C.T. Kuo, vice president and general manager of CENS, observes that mainland Chinese auto parts and accessory makers are rapidly catching qualitatively to Taiwanese counterparts, a significant trend as the former has long relied on low cost advantages. In China, Kuo stresses, the transportation equipment industry has been achieving the highest growth since 2001, when China became a World Trade Organization (WTO) member, as well as in 2003 and 2004, when China suffered economic stagnation.

Now is a turning point for Taiwanese parts and accessory makers, Kuo says, because such competition forces Taiwan-based players to focus on new-product development and quality upgrading to stay ahead of low-cost rivals in China, as well as enabling them to tap upscale segments.

Kuo is, however, very confident of Taiwanese auto-parts makers' long-established skills and integrated competitiveness-able to offer high quality, prompt delivery, and take on small-batch, large-variety orders. He also thinks that the aftermarket (AM) auto-parts business requires long-term and substantial investment in tooling that effectively bar most China-based counterparts from entering the industry.

Marketing is, Kuo says, undoubtedly the next step for Taiwan AM-parts makers, who are generally manufacturing-oriented, because "made-in-Taiwan" is often synonymous with good quality and reasonable prices. So Taiwan suppliers have to more aggressively emulate, for examples, Swiss watchmakers and Japanese consumer electronics brands.

As the publisher of the well-known Taiwan Transportation Equipment Guide (TTG) magazine that contains about 600-700 Taiwan suppliers of auto-parts, CENS circulates the magazine at various global trade shows yearly. As the largest exhibitor group organizer in Taiwan, Kuo says, CENS has been regularly tapping its resources to help Taiwan parts and accessory makers build presence at Automechanika as a means to further explore the European market.