The Frankfurt Motor Show, under threat

The next Frankfurt Motor Show could be under threat from a group of activists calling themselves ‘Rocks in the Gearbox’.

The Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens later this month in September, is stepping up security checks to prepare for a possible interruption by climate activists who are calling on people to join protests against cars.

Police are already investigating a group calling itself ‘Rocks in the Gearbox‘ after more than 40 luxury vehicles were destroyed at a car dealership in Kronberg, on the outskirts of Frankfurt, earlier this week, adding to a series of protests against cars.

Ahead of the car show, the German automotive industry association, the VDA, has sought to calm anti-car sentiment by inviting environmental activists from Greenpeace and Deutsche Umwelthilfe to a panel discussion in Berlin on 5 September, alongside executives from Daimler, BMW and the VDA, to debate the climate crisis and the future of mobility.

Is the Frankfurt Motor Show at risk?

The Frankfurt Motor Show, known as IAA, will run from 12 to 22 September. “We are in close contact with the security authorities, as we are at every IAA. Entrance controls will be stricter, since spontaneous disturbances may occur at the show,” said Eckehart Rotter, spokesman for the VDA.

Environmental groups, including one called ‘Sand in the Gearbox‘, have called on the public to join protests in Frankfurt on 14 September, prompting the VDA to warn visitors to the car show to expect longer queues at the security checkpoints.

Police in Wiesbaden said last Thursday that they were investigating the group ‘Rocks in the Gearbox’ after it claimed responsibility for damaging the vehicles Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin at the car dealership last Monday.

The windscreens, windows, roofs and panels were smashed with metal objects, and the two glass doors at the dealership were shattered, a Wiesbaden police spokesman said. “They used hammers and crowbars, and we are investigating a group that has claimed responsibility.”

‘Rocks in the Gearbox’ issued a statement on Monday saying that “in two weeks, Frankfurt will once again launch a propaganda show that glorifies the outdated, climate- and environment-destroying transport system.” “We want to expose this show for what it really is: profits made at the expense of the poorest and of future generations… We believe it is time to throw stones into the gearbox of capitalist profit logic and the car industry.”

The statement called for greater scrutiny of working conditions in related industries, including the production of cargo, cotton and rubber, as well as of the people who extract rare earths for electric car batteries and electronic products. In early August, climate activists had occupied the railway lines supplying the Volkswagen Wolfsburg plant, according to police in Wolfsburg-Helmstedt.