MUNICH — When the Frankfurt show folded in 2019, the German auto industry and the government vowed to press on and recast what had been a truly global automotive showcase into a lifeline for the nation's domestic industry.
They moved the 2021 show to Munich, with the helpful assistance of hometown automaker BMW and Stuttgart neighbor Mercedes-Benz, and renamed it the IAA Mobility. And despite a global pandemic, they put together a substitute auto show — albeit one without nearly as many cars from nearly as many continents.
Staff Reporter Larry P. Vellequette attended the show and took stock of the production and concept vehicles strewn across several halls of Munich's giant convention center.