Germany – At IAA Transportation 2024 last month, I experienced firsthand the magnetic effect of the “Tesla phenomenon”. Towards the end of a series of keynote speeches delivered by some of the industry’s most important executives, Dan Priestley, who heads the development of Tesla’s heavy electric ‘Semi’ truck, took to the stage to provide an update on the company’s plans for the commercial vehicle segment. I had a place towards the front, having sat through the preceding talks that afternoon, which were reasonably well attended; however, looking behind just before Priestley’s entry to the stage, I saw a new crowd of attendees filling out the entire space. They had taken all the available seats and were mostly standing through Priestley’s short speech, which was rather lacking in detail. But that hardly seemed to matter. They were there to see a representative of the elusive company in the flesh and to hear him speak; the content of his speech was of secondary importance. Once Priestley left the stage, the new attendees saw no reason to stick around, and as a result, Arnd Franz, Chairman and CEO of Mahle, had the misfortune of addressing his speech to a crowd of departing backs. It was a tough act to follow.

That is not to say that the other speakers had nothing of interest to offer to the audience. On the contrary, several of the speeches and discussions held earlier in the day were meatier and more thought-provoking than Priestley’s keynote. However, it must be said that none were likely to excite or inspire a crowd. CEO after CEO came on stage to explain that the transition from diesel was not going according to plan; despite the best efforts of European OEMs over the past couple of years to put out a wide range of electric options, the market is simply not ready to buy them.