This month is going to be a ripper. No, I’m not just talking about our first Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix after a two-year drought (all eyes on you Melbourne!) – it’s school holiday time again.
As a family man, I just love hanging out with my brood and seeing what’s on around town. Us Jacobsons like to keep busy, I can’t wait for the Grand Prix and, down the track, Motorclassica is a calendar fixture in my house.
And it’s got me thinking, are motor shows really dead?
I was chatting to my mate Geoff, CEO of the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce, about it. Sure, it’s clear from their experience of the Australian International Motor Show folding in 2015 that motor shows are not flavour of the month.
Or rather, they weren’t.
Australia saw the first motor exhibition in Sydney in 1925 and from 1927 Melbourne hosted an annual show, with the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce being involved from the start. But in 2008 the house of cards began to fall. A German manufacturer – disgruntled at the cost of exhibiting at dual ‘international shows’ in two cities in a country of 20-odd million people – decided to invest elsewhere. Other manufacturers followed suit. And, of course, digital assets like websites, videos and social media gave manufacturers tools to effectively market products to buyers, without the need for expensive motor show stands. So, the motor shows stopped. But there are many who would like them to return – me included!
Will they? Maybe.
There are investors and event specialists kicking ideas around. Lessons have been learned that could result in a very successful event. For example, Geoff flagged that an essential aspect of any new motor show format is that it becomes a selling event. Places like Thailand are leading the way. A few years ago (remember pre-COVID life?) 1.6 million people attended the Bangkok Show, with 45,000 cars and 5000 motorcycles sold. In only 12 days!
Who wouldn’t want a piece of that? Now, I’m more of a tyre kicker and just want to check out the flashy four-wheelers – but I reckon you need a few of my people too…
Something to think about.
See ya on the road, folks!
Words: VACC ambassador Shane Jacobson.
Want to hear more from Shane? Catch him – along with co-hosts Greg Rust and VACC CEO, Geoff Gwilym – on THE GRILLE podcast each month. There'll be auto news and views, industry insights and trends, special guests, and plenty of laughs along the way. Visit: thegrillepodcast.com.au