This year’s Munich Motor Show gets underway on 5 September and once again it’s poised to be one of the most important events on the automotive calendar.
Also known as IAA Mobility, the event takes place every two years and sprawls out across the city with guest speakers, shows and even test drives. As ever, there will be plenty of world debuts of new cars and technology.
The Germans will of course have a presence in Munich, with Mercedes unveiling a new concept that should preview an all-electric entry-level car next year.
BMW will also be there, showcasing its future with the Neue Klasse platform – something that will underpin a new concept car ahead of production models from 2025. There will also be new metal from BYD, Vauxhall, Renault and many more.
Below we have our run-down of everything you need to know about the 2023 Munich Motor Show.
Audi
Audi has confirmed that it’s attending Munich this year but it is yet to announce what will be unveiled. The most likely candidate, though, is the new Q6 e-tron. While we’ve already driven this all-electric SUV in prototype form, it is yet to be officially launched. If we don’t get a full reveal, it’s likely that Audi will least share some more details about the latest addition to the e-tron range.
BMW
BMW has been talking about its upcoming Neue Klasse platform for a while now but Munich will see a new concept called ‘Vision Neue Klasse’ debut the technology. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse has said the concept will be “close to standard production and will be on the roads soon”. We should expect an all-electric alternative to the 3 Series on Neue Klasse to be revealed in 2025.
BMW’s ‘round cell’ battery technology will also feature on Neue Klasse, with the German firm claiming a 20 per cent improvement in energy density, a 30 per cent increase in range and a 30 per cent boost to charging speed.
BYD
We expect to see all-electric car maker BYD in Munich with the new Dolphin and Seal. BYD also recently announced the Seal U will come to Europe and we could see it make its European debut. The Seal U is a mid-size SUV that’ll provide competition to the Volkswagen ID.4 and Tesla Model Y.
Cupra
After revealing the DarkRebel in holographic form earlier this year, Cupra has recently announced that its electric sports car concept is now “ready for the next stage of its evolution from the digital to the physical world”. So, naturally, Munich would be the ideal location for this physical debut to take place. However, its attendance is yet to be officially confirmed.
Mercedes
Mercedes has spoken on its plans to become more focused on premium models and at the bottom end of the range we’ll see a new C-Class-sized all-electric saloon. We recently caught the production version testing with less camouflage and we know it’ll gain some of the cutting-edge EV technology found in the EQXX. The entry-level EV should rival BMW’s 3 Series EV above, which just so happens to be getting its concept reveal at Munich as well. The Mercedes will beat its German rival to production however, going on sale in 2024.
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Alongside the recently unveiled E-Class Estate, the off-road focused All-Terrain will also return for another generation – which we expect to see for the first time in Munich. Although it doesn’t sell in big numbers (Mercedes expects around 10 per cent of Estate sales to be All-Terrains), it’ll still prop up a large portion of the lifted estate genre – especially now Volvo has axed its estate cars.
MINI
With several revealing spy shots of the new MINI Cooper already in the public domain, MINI might decide to bring its official reveal of the new car to the Munich Motor Show. Alongside the all-electric version, MINI will continue to offer an internal-combustion engined version. As well as the exterior we’ve also had a good look around the interior thanks to official images released by MINI.
The largest member of MINI’s lineup should also be making an appearance. A camouflaged third-generation Countryman has already been snapped both on and off the road, but Munich could be the first time that we’re able to see MINI’s family SUV completely undisguised.
Porsche
IAA lists Porsche as a ‘top exhibitor’ for the 2023 event, although there has been no confirmation from the German brand as to what it’ll have on display. We know it won’t be the upcoming all-electric Macan as that’s destined for an unveiling at the LA Motor Show in November. The futuristic Mission X hypercar could be brought to Munich however, showcasing Porsche’s plans for electric sports cars.
Renault
The ‘Renaulution’, as the French firm puts it, means big changes are on the way for the Scenic badge – turning into an all-electric family car with bold new styling. Previewed by the Scenic Vision Concept in 2022, official teaser images show the production car will remain broadly similar to the concept, with influence from the new Megane E-Tech and Rafale.
The new Scenic will adopt CMF-EV architecture – the same setup found in our 2022 Car of the Year, the Nissan Ariya.
Smart
After its initial unveiling at the Shanghai Auto Show back in April, the all-electric Smart #3 will make its official European debut in Munich.
Although official details are being kept quiet for now, we know that the #3 will share many of its underpinnings with the smaller #1 crossover. It also shares a number of both interior exterior styling cues, but its larger size will see the #3 fighting-off fierce electric coupe-SUV competitors like the Tesla Model Y and Skoda Enyaq iV.
Tesla
The American EV giant posted a shadowy image of a new car earlier this year, which we believe to be the ‘Model 2’.
Tesla has announced it will be at the Munich Motor Show but hasn’t confirmed if it’ll reveal anything. An updated Model 3 is also in the works, codenamed ‘Highland’, and Tesla could potentially reveal this instead of the Model 2.
Vauxhall
The Experimental concept will be unveiled in full in Munich and while we’ve received a few official teaser images, Vauxhall is keeping its cards close to its chest.
Vauxhall will likely utilise the Medium STLA architecture from parent company Stellantis for its new concept, allowing for a family-sized EV to reach up to 435 miles on a single charge.
Volkswagen
VW’s all-electric range of ID-badged cars received a new model recently with the Passat-sized ID.7 and a hot GTX model is coming to Munich.
A few official teaser images have already been released, showing a mild makeover for the sporty ID.7 GTX in a similarly subtle way to GTX versions of the ID.4 and ID.5. We expect a 82kWh battery to power the ID.7 GTX, with up to 400bhp from a dual-motor, all-wheel drive system.
Alongside the ID.7 GTX reveal could be the debut of the new Passat, which will share a platform and plenty of technology with the upcoming Skoda Superb.
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