July 5, 2013 - 4:08PM, David McCowen, Drive.com.au
The future of the Australian International Motor Show is in jeopardy after organisers cancelled next year's Sydney expo.
The announcement comes just four months after the 2013 motor show, due to be held in Melbourne this week, was called off.
Russ Tyrie, event director for the motor show, says there will not be a show in Australia next year, but said he is looking at alternative formats for the future.
“After careful consideration, we have made the decision to not proceed with the 2014 Australian International Motor Show,” he says.
“This does not mean the end for Motor Shows in Australia though, with the AIMS Joint Venture currently developing and planning a concept for future Motor Shows.
“We are in the midst of extensive market research and undertaking discussions with industry and government stakeholders to determine a show model that can best meet the needs of the industry and the public.”
The next Sydney motor show was to be the first held at Sydney Olympic Park.
The motor show show had been jointly hosted by Sydney and Melbourne on alternating years.
That arrangement started in 2009 after several high-profile car-makers pulled out of the 2009 Sydney motor show and pushed for an alternating arrangement.
Many key manufacturers were missing from the last motor show, hosted by Sydney in 2012.
Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati, Jeep, Rolls-Royce and many other brands chose to spend marketing budgets on other activities.
Modern motor show stands are a multi-million dollar affair that often involve concept cars and international drawcards being flown into town from afar.
Local manufacturers Holden, Ford and Toyota had all planned events for the stillborn Melbourne motor show this year while Mazda planned to use the event as the international unveiling of the new Mazda3.
Mercedes-Benz spokesman David McCarthy says his brand had something special planned for the now-defunct Melbourne show.
“We commissioned a number of special build vehicles for [the Australian International Motor Show] to build on the success of these type of one-off vehicles in previous years,” he says.
“One thing is sure, we will show them publicly and they will be made available for sale afterwards.”
