Frankfurt Motorshow

International Motor Show Germany Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung
The Frankfurt Trade Fair during the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show with the Messeturm in the background
Status	Active
Genre	Auto show
Frequency	Annual (Passenger vehicles in odd years, commercial vehicles in even years)
Venue	Messe Frankfurt (Passenger vehicles) Hanover Fairground (Commercial vehicles)
Country	Germany
Years active	1897–present
Previous event	14 September 2017 – 24 September 2017 (Passenger vehicles)
Attendance	See here.
Organised by	Verband der Automobilindustrie
Website
www.iaa.de/en/

The International Motor Show Germany or simply International Motor Show, in German known as the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA - International Automobile Exhibition), is the world's largest motor show. It is held annually, with passenger vehicles (including some motorcycles) being displayed in odd-numbered years in Frankfurt am Main, and commercial vehicles in even-numbered years in Hanover, Germany. Before 1991 the show was held solely in Frankfurt.

The IAA is organized by the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA – Association of the German Automotive Industry) and is scheduled by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles. Currently, the show in Frankfurt occupies twelve buildings.

In 1897 the first IAA was held at the Hotel Bristol in Berlin, with a total of eight motor vehicles on display. As the automobile became more known and accepted, the IAA became a fixed event in Germany, with at least one held every year, usually in Berlin. From 1905-1907, there were two per year, as the production had increased to an industrial level. In the next years the show was suspended due to the ongoing World War I, and was then reinstated in 1921 with 67 automobile manufacturers displaying 90 vehicles under the motto "comfort".

Despite the still perceptible after-effects of the global recession, the 22nd IAA was held in Berlin in 1931, with a total of 295,000 visitors. For the first time the exhibition included front-wheel drive vehicles. In 1939 the 29th installation of the event gathered a total of 825,000 visitors - an all-time record at that time. The new Volkswagen was presented for the first time, which later came to be known as the Beetle. This was the last IAA before it was again suspended during World War II. From 1947-1949, Germany’s automobile and accessories manufacturers took part in the export trade fair in Hanover. The automobile industry’s hall acted like a magnet on the public, with a great number of visitors coming to the show. In 1951 the show was held on the Messe Frankfurt for the first time. The event, which was held in April, attracted a total of 570,000 visitors, with exhibits including the first HGV to have a turbo diesel engine. Just six months later, in September 1951, a second exhibition in Berlin was held, gathering 290,000 visitors. From then on, the German automobile industry bade farewell to its traditional exhibition site in Berlin and relocated the motor show completely to Frankfurt. The IAA was also rescheduled to only take place every other year.