The first Munich Motor Show is fast approaching with the doors set to open to the press on Monday and the public allowed access the following day. Officially, the Munich Motor Show is called IAA Mobility and It spreads right across the city, with a traditional motor show space as well as displays in the city centre and even a test track that links the main locations.
The Munich Motor Show will host the reveals of several new models, and you can read about all of the most important ones below in our A-to-Z list of the car makers and what they’re going to bring to the show.
We already know that Audi, BMW, Cupra, Dacia, Hyundai, Mercedes, Polestar, Porsche, Renault, Smart and Volkswagen will be in attendance, though only a handful of these car makers have announced what they will be showing. Notably, Stellantis brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat won’t be attending the show.
The Munich Motor Show, which replaces the traditional Frankfurt Motor Show this year, will be built around the Summit area, a typical motor show space with halls full of new products. This is where our reporters will chat to industry bosses and get our famous scoops and exclusive news stories.
Then there’s the Blue Lane, a test track that runs from the conference centre to the city centre, where visitors can try out new products, including cars and bicycles – since this motor show is focused on all forms of mobility and not just cars.
Then there’s the Open Space in the city centre, where visitors to Munich will be able to see the new cars and other transport, plus there will be entertainment and other events.
Munich Motor Show 2021: A to Z
Audi
Audi will show two of its ‘Sphere’ concepts at the Munich Motor Show. The first, the ‘Grandsphere’, is an all-electric luxury car that previews a future A8 limo replacement. It features Level 4 autonomous tech, while the 120kWh battery provides 710bhp, 960Nm of torque and a driving range of around 460 miles between charges.
It also features a new approach to interior design, with the cabin constructed mainly of sustainable or recyclable materials. The highly digital approach centres around a new infotainment system that can project a full cabin-width image onto the surface when in its autonomous mode. Audi also claims the Grandsphere is the closest of the three Sphere concepts (the others being the Skysphere and the as yet unseen Urbansphere) to a production model.
The sporty Skysphere will also be on show in Munich. It was revealed a few weeks prior to the show and features dramatic swoopy styling that is said to preview the brand’s next-generation design direction. The all-electric luxury two-seat roadster also incorporates some radical thinking, helped by its variable wheelbase set-up, that’s claimed to provide occupants of the Skysphere two very different experiences.
Power comes from a battery that “is expected to be more than 80kWh” for a claimed WLTP range of 500km (around 310 miles). The battery feeds one electric motor mounted on the rear axle producing 623bhp and 750Nm of torque; Audi claims that the Skysphere weighs around 1,800kg, which results in a 0-62mph time of 4.0 seconds.
If the two advanced concepts aren’t enough to drag you to Audi’s Munich stand there’s also the first chance to get up-close-and-personal with the giant-slaying hyper hatch, the RS 3. Already, unveiled in full online, we already know the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S rival returns with its trademark 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder that pumps out a muscular 395bhp and 500Nm of torque.
Combined with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and quattro all-wheel drive, Audi says the RS 3 can get from 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds before running into its speed limiter at 155mph. In the UK, the RS 3 that has claimed the Nurburgring lap record for compact cars is priced from £50,900.
BMW
BMW will roll out its hydrogen fuel-cell powered X5 SUV. Called the iX5 Hydrogen, BMW has confirmed the zero-emission SUV will be available for showgoers to take short rides in ahead of its 2022 debut. Featuring a unique blue-tinted grille, lightweight 22-inch alloys and a revised rear diffuser with blanks where the exhausts sit on ICE-powered X5s, the short-production run of iX5s are driven by a pair of electric motors that generate a combined 369bhp.
Employing fuel-cell tech developed in partnership with Toyota, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen is claimed to combine an unconfirmed long-range with a four-minute refuelling time.
As well as the bigger hydrogen-powered X5, BMW will use its home show to debut the recently updated pure-electric iX3 that received mild cosmetic updates and more tech.
Finally, the German brand will reveal its vision of the future with a 100-per-cent recyclable concept car called the i Vision Circular.
Cupra
Spanish performance brand, Cupra, will unveil the UrbanRebel concept at Munich, which gives an indication of the design language the manufacturer will employ on its more affordable, smaller electric cars.
Look past the motorsport addenda and the shape provides an interesting insight into how a small Cupra EV might look. Although Cupra says the UrbanRebel has 335bhp, with the ability to produce up to 429bhp for short periods, a production car is more likely to have around 200bhp and a rear-wheel-drive set-up.
Cupra will also use the Munich show to unveil its all-new Born electric hatch that’s closely-related to the Volkswagen ID.3. Already previewed online, we know that beneath the skin, the Cupra Born will be offered with either a 148bhp or 228bhp electric motor that, with the largest 77kWh battery provides a range of up to 335 miles.
Priced from £32,000 including the government’s £2,500 grant, deliveries begin in early 2022, while the former SEAT sub-brand says it’s tuned the Born to be fun to drive.
Dacia
Budget car maker Dacia will show off its new seven-seat MPV called the Jogger – a replacement for the Romanian brand’s Lodgy seven-seater MPV. It’s been confirmed to be coming to the UK, despite this model having been previously only available in other markets.
It uses the same architecture as the new Sandero and Sandero Stepway, but it’s larger to accommodate the extra passenger seats inside. It also uses the same engines, including a small petrol and the LPG-equipped Bi-Fuel model.
Kia
Kia has confirmed that it will showcase the all-new European-spec Sportage family SUV in plug-in hybrid form at the 2021 Munich show. It’s the first time we’ll have seen a specific model for the European market, with a shorter wheelbase likely for the Sportage we’ll get in the UK. The SUV will package a 13.8kWh battery feeding a 90bhp electric motor that will work in conjunction with a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol unit.The Korean brand’s first electric car to be based on the E-GMP platform, the EV6, will also make its European debut.
Mercedes
The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door 63 S E-Performance model will make its world debut at Munich. It’s the performance brand’s first plug-in hybrid and will compete with the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.
With a total power output of 831bhp and 1,400Nm of torque, the E-Performance is the most powerful production car Mercedes has ever made, with the added bonus of also being able to run solely on electric power. It’ll probably be on sale in the UK from early 2022, but expect prices to carry a significant premium over the £145k Mercedes asks for the non-hybrid GT 4-Door 63 S.
Mercedes will launch a total of eight new cars at Munich, including five pure-electric vehicles and one new performance hybrid. The most important debut will be the Mercedes EQE saloon, ahead of the new all-electric executive saloon going on sale in 2022.
For those EV buyers who need something altogether more rugged, Benz will also pull the drapes off a concept for a battery-powered EQG version of the G-Class that will preview a production model scheduled to make its debut in 2024.
We’ll have to wait until the show to see if engineers have adapted the current G-Class’s ladder-frame underpinnings to package the batteries or started from scratch and used Mercedes’ dedicated EVA platform for EVs; regardless, expect its blocky looks to live on in the electric age.
Mercedes will also unveil its first-ever electric AMG model, which we expect will be a 751bhp version of the EQS saloon. A more luxurious Mercedes-Maybach-badged version of the EQS SUV will also be launched.
Other highlights will include a new rival for the Audi A4 Allroad in the form of the C-Class All-Terrain.
Porsche
Mystery still surrounds exactly what Porsche plans to unwrap at the Munich motor show following it only revealing a single teaser image of a headlamp, but we expect the concept will be fully electric and possibly take the shape of a sports or supercar.
Other rumours suggest that it could preview new tech destined for the brand’s 2023 hybrid racer that’s currently in development for the World Endurance Championship’s upcoming LMDh class.
Renault
Renault has a strong line-up at the Munich show, starting with the new Megane E-Tech electric car. It’s a fully electric version of the popular family car and will rival the Volkswagen ID.3.
The Renault 5 electric car prototype we’ve already seen will also make an appearance on the show stand, as well as some classic Renault 5 models to compare it with. Plug-in hybrid Megane models will also appear.
Finally, there will be vehicles from the new Mobilize brand, which Renault is using to show its planned range of urban vehicles, likely to be called Duo, Bento, Limo and Hippo. This service looks like it will produce a successor to the oddball Twizy, but with a more modern sales policy with charges based on time spent in the car and paid by smartphone.
Smart
Smart will showcase the start of its push upmarket and into larger vehicle segments at Munich, with new parent company Geely at the helm. The company will unveil a new concept electric SUV, which ditches some of the brand’s famed “smallness” in favour of a more premium image.
It will morph into a fresh rival for the MINI Countryman and Audi Q2 in 2023 – and we have it on good authority that the finished car will look just like the concept sketches. It will be the first car using the new Geely developed SEA all-electric car platform.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen will unveil not one but three new cars at the Munich show. We’ve already driven the ID.5 GTX coupe-SUV in prototype form, but now it’s time to reveal the real thing.
Based heavily on VW’s first performance-focused electric car, the ID.4 GTX, the sporty ID.5 gets swoopy looks and a powerful 295bhp all-wheel drive system that offers a brisk 6.2-second dash from 0-62mph. Feeding the pair of electric motors is a 77kWh lithium-ion battery that provides a range of up to 308 miles.
If a quick electric SUV-coupe doesn’t appeal, VW will also cater to more traditional performance car enthusiasts with the facelifted Polo GTI. Now pumping out 204bhp from its 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo, the pint-size VW hot hatch gets a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that enables it to launch from 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds.
The final launch on the VW stand will be the European market debut of the SUV-coupe Taigo. Closely related to the Polo-based Nivus already on sale in South America, think of the Taigo as a sportier take on the current T-Cross. Under the bonnet there’s the choice of either a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol or a more powerful 1.5-litre turbo that will offer up to 148bhp.
What do you think will be the star of the show in Munich? Let us know in the comments…