Standout trends and what we saw at IAA this year

Last week, the International Motor Show (IAA Mobility) in Munich, Germany took place. It’s one of the world’s most exciting mobility trade fairs, attracting carmakers, escooter and micromobility brands, OEMs and emobility service providers (eMSPs) from all over the world. This year we saw some key trends start to emerge, here’s what we learned.

China has arrived

You didn’t have to go to IAA to hear about this story because it was all over the headlines: China-based automotive brands arrived in force to this year’s IAA. Why? Because it’s one of the biggest car making countries in the world, and it’s making a lot of very exciting and interesting vehicles that are only just hitting Europe.

As we scramble for new electric vehicles, more cost-effective options and alternatives to more traditional vehicle brands, China seems to have the goods right now. As The New York Times reports, China had more than seven brands on display at the show.

BYD is one of China’s biggest automakers. Unlike many western brands, it has made a swift transition from making combustion vehicles to electric vehicles.

What’s more alarming is Germany’s response. Executives at big Germany automakers are saying they need to engage “China speed” to catch up with EV production. In years to come, IAA — which was once the stomping ground of German marques — will be the one to watch to see how industry interest in Chinese and German car making plays out.

Silicon makers are the new disruptors

Chinese automakers are clearly well-known for disrupting the western market, but Dan El Baze, TomTom’s Head of Business Development, who attended this year’s event, spotted another group shaking things up: “Silicon players are the new disruptors,” he says.

As vehicles of all types become more advanced, the companies that make the hardware to power the brains of vehicle features such as, in-vehicle screens, vehicle monitoring and high-level ADAS functions, are going to be ever more important.

They’ll be the ones helping carmakers and OEMs push the boundaries of what’s possible. They’re so important, “OEMs can no longer ignore them,” El Baze says.

In-car screens still dominate

Over the past few years, we’re written a lot about in-car screens and their experiences. The general trend has seen carmakers add lots of screens, bigger central displays, passenger displays and even rear-passenger displays, to their vehicles.

You’d be forgiven if you’d thought carmakers couldn’t get any more creative with their in-vehicle display placement and sizing. But it seems they’re not done yet.

At this year’s IAA, carmakers showed off swathes of unique in-vehicle displays, including screens the entire width of the dashboard that curve around the driver from a-pillar to a-pillar and portrait displays that cascade and drape down the central console. This is all alongside the more common tablet style displays.

Samsung’s portrait curved display. Curving a display like this can make information easier to see, and help split the screen up into useful areas.

“Not only are [in-car] UI designs becoming more tablet-like, but so are the interactions. There are consistent home buttons for returning to the main page and many vehicles support the ‘long press’ to edit widget views,” Christina Yu-Ting Wang, TomTom Design Lead, says.

Carmakers aren’t simply adding screens and making them bigger, though, they’re now looking much deeper at the experience and what makes sense for the specific vehicle. British Marque Lotus, a company known for simplicity, presents drivers with an ultra-small instrument cluster, with a larger accompanying central screen in its Eletre — the VW ID.7 and the VW ID.Buzz have similar setups. They’re also adding head-up displays too.

Credit: Lotus. The Lotus Eletre has a small display cluster for the driver and another for the passenger, and a larger central screen.

“The head-up display has become widespread hardware in cars at IAA. Premium brands have it, but so do high-end vehicles from mass-market brands like VW and Opel,” Wang adds.

Overall, Wang says that screen experience and display performance is getting better. They’re smoother and more detailed. As a result, UI designs are easier to see. Adding screens is one thing, but we also need to make sure they’re a delight to use.

eMSPs are putting themselves out there

There’s a lot of unseen communication that goes on between vehicle and charger and between the charger, the payment service and the customer. Crucial in delivering this part of charging infrastructure are electric mobility service providers, or eMSPs for short. eMSPs play a central role in making sure drivers can find chargers, ensuring chargers and cars can communicate with each other and they’re crucial in facilitating payment.

Siemens presenting its charging solutions for electric vehicles. Siemens is no stranger to electrified transport and renewable energy.

IAA delivered, as always

TomTom's stand at IAA, Munich, 2023.