In 1993 another vision was to be seen on the Mercedes-Benz stand: at the 55th IAA Mercedes-Benz presented the concept study Vision A 93, the precursor to the A-Class. At the 57th IAA in 1997, a number of design and equipment lines for the smallest Mercedes celebrated their premiere. And as an absolute world first, Mercedes-Benz presented the top-of-the-line model in the C-Class, the C 43 AMG with a
V8-engine; the C 220 Turbodiesel was equipped with a diesel engine featuring common-rail direct injection. In 1997 the "New Electric Car" was also presented under the designation NECAR 3 – based on the A-Class, this was the world’s first fuel cell powered car with onboard hydrogen generation. Visitors in 1997 were also able to admire the F 300 Life-Jet for the very first time – a study for a three-wheeled recreational vehicle with an active suspension system.

The motto for the last IAA of the millennium was “The car: where the future comes together”. In 1999 manufacturers and suppliers showed the future-oriented solutions they had prepared to meet the challenges of the new millennium. Engine-related innovations made it particularly clear that the automobile industry was serious about environmental protection. New drive train and engine features made automobiles even more economical and clean.

During the 58th IAA in Frankfurt – the first major event since the merger between Daimler-Benz and Chrysler – DaimlerChrysler was able to set new records for all its car brands. From January up to and including August 1999, DaimlerChrysler achieved worldwide unit sales of more than 2.8 million passenger cars, minivans, Sports Utility Vehicles and pickups to generate a turnover of 65 billion euros, an increase of 12 percent.