MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) praised the innovative capacity of German automakers and suppliers at the opening of the IAA in Munich on Tuesday. "There is no question about the competitiveness of the auto industry in Germany," Scholz said, referring to the many Chinese automakers appearing at the auto show for the first time and now looking to gain a foothold in Germany. He did not address the criticism of Germany as a location by the auto industry and its association president Hildegard Müller.

"The weekend has also shown me personally: as much as jogging is, for some distances it's better to take the car," the chancellor joked. He had fallen 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 future projects of German automakers and suppliers. Chinese automakers were not on his agenda, but the Chinese battery manufacturer Catl, which has a plant in Erfurt, was.

The environmental organization Greenpeace cancelled the tour. Three of its activists climbed onto cars and a table at the BMW booth and raised banners reading "The Party is over" as BMW CEO Oliver Zipse showed the chancellor a vehicle. After a brief commotion, the official program continued. Later, there was a similar action at Mercedes-Benz.

Such protests were "part and parcel of an open democratic debate," Scholz said. In view of the e-cars on display, however, they were "a bit anachronistic." The mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter (SPD), had already criticized at the opening ceremony that refusing to engage in discussion and "exhausting oneself in media-effective protests" was the wrong way to go. More climate protection can only be achieved with the car industry, not against it. In Munich alone, tens of thousands of jobs depend on the auto industry.

VDA President Müller expressed her concern about Germany as a business location and a creeping shift of investments abroad: "We want to invest here. But the conditions have to be right for that." However, she said, taxes, duties and energy prices are no longer competitive internationally, and new requirements from Brussels and Berlin are constantly being added. The companies generate profits primarily abroad. The U.S. and China, on the other hand, support their companies and unleash the forces of innovation with less bureaucracy and more freedom of technology, Müller said.

Scholz, on the other hand, praised Germany as a business location and expressed optimism for the German auto industry: "Competition should spur us on, not scare us." He said his goal remains to have 15 million e-cars on the road in Germany by 2030 and to have built "one million charging stations."

Bavarian Minister President Markus Soder (CSU) criticized the German government's reduction of purchase premiums for e-cars as wrong. Addressing radical opponents of cars, he said, "I think it's smarter to solve problems with brains instead of glue." Area states like Bavaria are unimaginable without cars, he said. The future of the car, he said, should take place in Germany and continue to create prosperity.

The networking of the various modes of transport is an important topic at the fair. At a forum on the subject, Hollywood actress Natalie Portman also took the stage. Portman has been campaigning for more climate protection in the U.S. and is also speaking about this at the trade fair in Munich.

Other protests outside the trade fair center did not significantly affect the event. Activists from Attac symbolically burned a 1.5-degree sign about one and a half meters in size late at noon to protest against the climate-damaging effects of car traffic. Two activists wearing masks represented Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) and the German car companies, who set fire to the 1.5-degree symbol. They were accompanied by activists with a placard "Don't burn our Future: Verkehrswende jetzt."

Only a short time later, Extinction Rebellion launched another action directly in front of the main entrance of the fair, which, unlike Attac's, was not registered. Seven activists got into one of the large pools of water in front of the entrance and let black smoke rise. The activists, some of whom were covered in black paint, demanded on posters that the IAA be blocked. They also criticized, among other things, the mining of lithium and SUVs weighing tons. Police were on the scene, but largely let the activists have their way.

Further protests have been announced for the end of the week. Already for some time the grouping last generation blocks roads in Munich. On Tuesday, two of your actions were largely prevented by the police. As of Tuesday afternoon, 29 activists of the group were in custody, according to police./rol/DP/ngu