German Chancellor Scholz opens annual IAA Mobility motor show

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised the innovative capacity of the country's carmakers and suppliers as he opened Germany's biggest annual motor show, IAA Mobility, in Munich on Tuesday.

"There is no question about the competitiveness of the automotive industry in Germany," Scholz said, referring to the many Chinese carmakers appearing at the motor show for the first time and now wanting to gain a foothold in Germany.

Ahead of the show, industry experts warned that Germany's automotive industry faces fierce competition from China, backlogs in new technology and weaker demand.

"The weekend also showed me personally that jogging is fun, but for some distances it is better to take the car," the chancellor said. He fell while jogging and now wears a black eye patch.

After the opening ceremony, Scholz set off on a two-hour tour of the exhibition halls to see the new products, especially from German carmakers and suppliers.

Chinese carmakers were not on his agenda, but the Chinese battery manufacturer Catl, which has a plant in Erfurt, was.

Meanwhile, the president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), Hildegard Müller, expressed her concern about Germany as a automotive hub.

"We want to invest here. But the conditions have to be right for that," Müller said in a speech on the opening day.

However, taxes, levies and energy prices are no longer competitive internationally, and new requirements were constantly coming from Brussels and Berlin, she added.

The United States and China, on the other hand, support their companies and unleash the forces of innovation with less bureaucracy and more technological freedom, she added.

Meanwhile, several groups of climate activists staged protests on the opening day of the show.

Greenpeace activists disrupted Scholz's tour of the premises as people climbed onto vehicles with banners reading "The party is over" during the chancellor's visit to the BMW and Mercedes stands.

About a dozen activists were involved in the action.

At the time of the protest, BMW boss Oliver Zipse was showing a vehicle at the manufacturer's stand. After a brief disturbance, the programme continued without major disruptions.

Outside, activists dressed up as German Transport Minister Volker Wissing and representatives of German car companies lit a 1.5-degree sign - referring to the global target of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degree Celsius - near the main entrance of the fair.

"Don't burn our future: mobility transition now," the signs by the anti-globalization group Attac read.

Shortly after, activists from Extinction Rebellion climbed into a large pond outside the fair venue and released black smoke, symbolizing exhaust fumes from cars, calling for an end to the IAA fair.

Police were on site but for the most part did not intervene.

The IAA Mobility fair is controversial, with various climate and environmental organizations criticizing it as a car lobby event.

Activists of the Last Generation climate group, meanwhile, blocked several streets across the Bavarian capital.

The city's mayor, Dieter Reiter, criticized the protests. Refusing to engage in discussion and exhausting oneself in media-savvy protests is the wrong way to achieve more action on climate change, he said.

The IAA Mobility expo, which brings together car manufacturers, suppliers, tech companies and politicians, is to last until Sunday.