Frankfurt auto show will move to Munich

Munich will succeed Frankfurt as the German auto show's host city starting in 2021, the VDA German automakers association said.

Munich convinced the VDA's board that its city center and highly attractive locations close to downtown can be used to host events for the show, VDA President Hildegard Mueller said in a news release on Tuesday.

The IAA will evolve from an automobile platform to a mobility platform, the VDA said. The next show is scheduled to be held in September 2021.

The association said in January that Frankfurt would no longer host the show after almost 70 years as the home of the biannual exhibition of the industry's latest innovations. It said Berlin, Hamburg and Munich had been shortlisted as potential successors.

The Frankfurt show is also known by its German acronym IAA, for International Automobile Exhibition. It has been a crucial sales and marketing platform for automakers but last September's event saw a sharp drop in interest as major brands, including fan magnet Ferrari, decided to skip the show.

It was also the target by protests by environmental activists and visitor numbers fell by 30 percent to 560,000.

The VDA's contract with the Frankfurt trade fair company ended last year, allowing the association the chance to change venues.

Reuters contributed to this report