The French automotive industry is undergoing a profound transformation: the electrification of model ranges, the rise of connectivity, pressure on aftermarket costs and the shift towards new forms of mobility. For an exhibitor, the most common mistake is to confuse the automotive sector with logistics and transport. The former covers the design, manufacture and maintenance of vehicles (equipment manufacturers, tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers, repairers, parts distributors); the latter covers the movement of goods (supply chain, warehousing, parcel delivery). A spare parts supplier and a route-optimisation software publisher are not addressing the same buyers.
The choice of trade show depends first and foremost on what you sell and to whom. Four segments structure the industry: equipment manufacturers and original equipment (selling to vehicle manufacturers), the aftermarket and replacement parts (selling to repairers and distributors), industrial and commercial vehicles (heavy goods vehicles, buses, urban vehicles), and sustainable mobility (charging, micromobility, services). The major showcase trade fair and the strictly professional trade shows do not play the same commercial role.
The showcase trade fair in France
The Mondial de l'Auto Paris is the historic automotive gathering in France, organised every two years in October (even years) at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles by the PFA (Plateforme Automobile). Next edition: 12 to 18 October 2026. It is above all a consumer showcase, dedicated to model launches and the brand-consumer relationship. For a B2B exhibitor, it retains genuine but targeted value: press presence, relations with corporate fleets, visibility among equipment manufacturers and principals. It is not a sourcing trade show for replacement parts or tooling: its logic is image and launch, not the workshop transaction.
The B2B pillars
Equip Auto Paris is the benchmark trade show for the aftermarket and mobility services, organised every two years (odd years) at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles by Comexposium. Next edition: 12 to 16 October 2027. It covers the entire aftermarket chain: spare parts, workshop equipment, tooling, diagnostics, tyres, bodywork and paint, washing and mobility services. It is the gathering point for distributors, repairers, auto centres and parts platforms. For a replacement parts or garage equipment supplier targeting the French market, it is the priority sourcing trade show.
Solutrans is the international trade show for industrial and urban vehicles and the mobility of tomorrow, organised every two years (odd years) in November at Eurexpo Lyon by Comexposium. Next edition: 16 to 20 November 2027. It addresses the heavy goods vehicle, commercial vehicle, industrial bodywork and road haulage of goods and passengers sectors. It is the meeting point for HGV manufacturers, body builders, equipment manufacturers and hauliers. For an industrial vehicle player, it has no equivalent in France.
Sustainable urban mobility (electric charging, micromobility, shared mobility services) constitutes a separate segment, younger and still in flux. An exhibitor positioned in these new forms of mobility must weigh up the dedicated spaces of the major generalist trade shows against the emerging specialised events.
The major European trade shows
Germany remains the industrial heart of European automotive and concentrates two structuring international gatherings.
IAA Mobility (Munich, biennial in September, organised by the VDA, the German automotive federation) has succeeded the Frankfurt show as the major continental showcase, now centred on mobility in the broad sense: vehicles, charging, cycling, urban services. The 2025 edition brought together more than 700 exhibitors and an audience numbering in the hundreds of thousands of visitors. The next edition is announced for 7 to 12 September 2027. It is the European benchmark for anyone wanting to take the pulse of the industry's transition.
Automechanika Frankfurt (biennial in September, Messe Frankfurt) is the largest automotive aftermarket trade show in the world, the international counterpart to Equip Auto. It covers the entire chain of replacement parts, repair and workshop equipment, and attracts thousands of exhibitors from more than 170 countries. Next edition announced for 8 to 12 September 2026. For a replacement parts supplier with export ambitions, it is the benchmark marketplace.
Beyond the trade shows
Several organisations structure the industry's exchanges outside the trade show calendar. The PFA (Plateforme Automobile) brings together manufacturers and equipment suppliers around industry-wide issues. The FIEV (Fédération des Industries des Équipements pour Véhicules) represents equipment manufacturers, while the FEDA carries the voice of spare parts distribution. On the industrial vehicle and transport side, the FNTR and the OTRE lead the haulage profession. These federations organise technical days, committees and conferences that often anticipate regulatory developments (emissions standards, the right to repair, battery recycling) before they are reflected on the stands.