Contradictions are inevitable, but the sustainable transition of mobility presses on. The third edition of IAA Mobility in Munich draws to a close.
Between tariffs and a looming 2035 deadline, the mobility transition has become a geopolitical issue, and the time is ripe to reflect on the contradictions that every single decision brings with it. The third edition of IAA Mobility in Munich, Bavaria's biennial showcase dedicated to mobility, was the occasion to face reality head-on: a complex reality in which nothing is simply black or white, but rather proof that manufacturers and institutions are confronting unprecedented challenges.
"The principle of over-regulation must finally be overcome, as must the dependence on bans and rigid commitments to individual technological options. Flexibility and technological openness are absolutely indispensable – declared Hildegard Müller, president of the German automotive industry association (VDA) – those who cannot analyse reality and act flexibly will not achieve their goals."
The requests to Brussels? "The discontinuation of the EU ban on combustion engines, the acceleration of technology for electric mobility and autonomous driving, the reduction of industrial electricity prices and the expansion of charging infrastructure." In short, mobility as a whole — and car mobility in particular — faces a challenge rife with contradictions. Perhaps this is precisely why brands such as Toyota, Ford, Nissan and many brands within the Stellantis group (Fiat, Lancia, Citroën, Jeep, to name just a few) chose not to be present at IAA Mobility 2025.
But there is one certainty we feel confident in expressing: to build shared solutions, it is necessary to engage and confront all stakeholders. A message that from Munich seems directed squarely at Brussels, from a show that, with around 750 exhibitors from 37 countries, 500 speakers engaged across 200 sessions of conferences and talks, 3,500 accredited journalists and over 350 world premieres and innovations, chose "It's all about mobility" as its message to underline the intention of showcasing not only the car (increasingly electric, increasingly Chinese, as we shall see), but the entire spectrum of mobility.
A show that, despite efforts to present a more inclusive vision of mobility (in addition to the fair at the heart of Munich and in other parts of the city, visitors were able to experience other forms of mobility such as two-wheelers, e-bikes, innovative forms of public transport and autonomous driving), remains above all a car show — one in which vehicles are increasingly electric, yes, but also increasingly large, afflicted by a "gigantism" that, especially in large cities, is becoming a problem of coexistence.
We were speaking of contradictions. On one hand, the drive for innovation; on the other, fears that the changes are unsustainable, as we shall see shortly. Let us begin, however, with those who, like Bosch, are pushing hard on innovation. "Software-driven mobility will be the growth engine for Bosch's mobility sector," with vehicles that, guided by software and centred on the user, learn continuously through software updates.
As they repeatedly say at Bosch, "without advanced hardware technology, even the smartest car wouldn't move an inch." Increasingly true. At least if we want to look at the self-driving car as a desirable and concrete future.
The goal? To ensure that a car's software remains constantly updated and continues to learn through artificial intelligence throughout the vehicle's entire useful life, acting on brakes, steering, engine and chassis to improve efficiency and safety, thanks to increasingly intelligent ADAS driver assistance systems.
This was repeatedly stressed by Jean-Philippe Imparato, Chief Operating Officer of Stellantis, present in Munich with just two of the group's numerous brands — Opel and Leapmotor — which brought their respective world premieres to the show: the concept Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo, an 800-horsepower car with a top speed of 320 km/h that also foreshadows the styling of the brand's upcoming electric models; the Opel Grandland Electric AWD, an all-wheel-drive 4×4 electric SUV; and Leapmotor with the B10 and B05 range. What did Imparato call for? A return of city cars (a segment that has almost entirely disappeared from the market), pragmatic solutions for renewing the 250 million obsolete and unsafe vehicles currently in circulation, and a strong signal to the European Commission to make European battery production a priority.
We have already written about Leapmotor — the alliance that Stellantis forged with the Chinese manufacturer to accelerate the development of affordable electric vehicles — in the past. At IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich, the compact B05 (pictured above) and the SUV B10 were unveiled in world premiere. The former is an electric car designed for city use: 4.43 metres long, with technical specifications yet to be disclosed.
The other new addition from Leapmotor is the B10, an electric SUV already on sale (priced at €26,900, it comfortably qualifies for the 2025 eco-incentives). Measuring 4.51 metres in length, with a practical and versatile interior, it is powered by a 218 hp electric motor and offered with two battery options: a 56.2 kWh pack delivering up to 361 kilometres of range, and a 67.1 kWh pack with up to 434 kilometres of range. Both batteries support 11 kW AC charging and DC fast charging of up to 168 kW, enabling a 30–80% charge in under 20 minutes.
Amid challenges, difficulties (witness the recent Volkswagen crisis, marked by worker strikes in Germany and a redundancy plan that has been worrying employees and trade unions for months) and contradictions (including the institutional U-turns on 2035 mentioned at the start of this article), a quick scan of the main unveilings from the German brands at IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich makes their commitment to an ever-wider range of electric models abundantly clear. Among the most interesting new arrivals: the BMW iX3, the plug-in hybrid Audi Q3 Sportback e-hybrid, the electric Porsche Taycan and Macan, the Mini John Cooper Works Electric, Mercedes with the electric GLC (an SUV boasting over 700 kilometres of range), the CLA shooting brake and the AMG GT XX concept, while Volkswagen unveiled a vehicle equipped with solid-state batteries that promise greater stability and range.
While Kia gave European audiences their first look at its full electric vehicle line-up — Concept EV2, Kia EV3, Kia EV4, Kia EV5, the new EV6 GT, Kia EV9 GT and Kia PV5 — Hyundai, the other brand within the South Korean group, put all its chips on the concept Three, the first compact electric in the Ioniq range, designed to "respond strategically and competitively to the growing European market demand for compact electric vehicles", as a press release explains.
We had already reported on Xpeng and the concerns surrounding China's electric vehicle advance, right from Munich at the 2023 edition. Since then, the brand has invested heavily in electric mobility, and next year it is poised to launch the first true flying car, which has already received over 4,000 pre-orders. For now, the available models include the electric SUV G6 — a mid-size SUV/crossover at 4.75 metres long (if that can still be called mid-size, at least by the standards of Italy's congested city streets); roughly the same footprint as a Tesla Model Y, to put it in perspective. The other model is the G9, another electric SUV, this time larger (and more powerful), measuring 4.89 metres in length. At Munich, these were joined by the European premiere of the new Next P7 and the flying car "Land aircraft carrier", the first true flying car available for purchase.
And while the car — largely electric, as we have seen — was the undisputed star inside the IAA Munich exhibition halls, the "other" kind of mobility, the slower, softer, more sustainable and shared kind, played a co-starring role in the "fuorisalone": across various areas of the city, people were invited to experience alternatives to the car, including a cycling area set up along Ludwigstraße with a course simulating everyday traffic situations, the Citizens Lab at Marienplatz that sparked stimulating discussions between experts, policymakers and citizens on electromobility, the expansion of cycle lanes, micromobility and the transformation of urban transport, while at Königsplatz the Experience World showcased a walk-through prototype of Munich's future suburban rail network.
Significant spaces were dedicated to "alternative" mobility, though they enjoyed less visibility than cars — a vision certainly scaled back compared to the first edition of IAA Mobility in Munich, when in 2021 it made its debut with a bolder, more inclusive project aimed at (a goal that has progressively faded over the years) giving a voice to all stakeholders in mobility; a mission, at least in part, that has failed.