The International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt is increasingly becoming the climate tribunal for the auto industry. Never before have so massive protests been announced as in this year's car show, which starts this Thursday in Frankfurt. At the center of criticism are not only since the devastating accident of Berlin-Mitte, the SUVs, because they are very harmful to the climate.
The BMW X7 top-of-the-line model emits around 200 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Most cars sold on the European market currently stand at 120 to 130 grams.
A number of environmental protection organizations have now asked the car industry and motorists to dispense with the gas-guzzling SUVs. The manufacturers would have to stop the development of SUVs and all other vehicles with internal combustion engines and convert immediately to electric cars, called for the alliance "getting out" .
For Greenpeace is also out of the question that SUVs are in conflict with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. "At the IAA climate killers are celebrated," says spokeswoman Marion Tiemann. She calls for a quick turnaround: "If manufacturers do not want to remain part of the problem, they must quickly rely on small, light, split e-cars and understand mobility as a service."
Jürgen Resch, head of the Association German Environmental Aid (DUH) , calls for an SUV sales stop and an exit from the combustion technology to January 1, 2025. Together with the Traffic Club VCD, the General German Bicycle Club ADFC, Greenpeace and other organizations calls the DUH for the upcoming Saturday on a bicycle rally followed by a major demonstration, to which the Frankfurt police expected around 20,000 people. But the arrival of thousands of cyclists on the two city highways A648 and A661 should stop the traffic in the Rhine-Main area.
The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) has tried to talk to the critics. A citizens' forum in Berlin is followed by another event in Frankfurt during the IAA. The event has already changed from an auto show to a "mobility fair", says VDA President Bernhard Mattes.
photo gallery
16 pictures
The novelties of the IAA 2019: That gives troubleHowever, in the current economic downturn, German manufacturers are even more economically dependent on the success of their SUVs. At BMW, they accounted for just under half of the cars sold in August. "Our new X models are very popular with customers," said Sales Director Pieter Nota. For the first time more than a million new cars of this type could roll on German roads this year.
