Melbourne motor show cancelled

ORGANISERS have pulled the pin on the 2013 Australian International Motor Show – scheduled to open on June 28 in Melbourne – after a number of car-makers said they would rather spend the money elsewhere.

In a shock announcement this morning, the joint-venture organisers behind the show, which was set up to flip-flop between Sydney and Melbourne several years ago after car-makers said the market was too small to support an annual show in each city, simply said the event “would not proceed”.

“We have made the decision to not proceed with this year’s show based on a consensus view of the automotive industry to focus limited marketing budgets in 2013 on firm-specific activities rather than an industry-based motor show,” said AIMS event director Russ Tyrie.

Mr Tyrie said the announcement to cancel the show was “unexpected” and that the committee behind the show’s organisers will now look at how future events will be staged.

“It became apparent that a number of (car) brands were attempting to place limited marketing resources (into the Melbourne show) and instead were putting them into private and individual resources for this year,” he said.

“As far as future shows go … the committee has confirmed it will be looking at all opportunities and market research to determine the best way the show can meet public and industry needs.”

AIMS event director Russ Tyrie

He said the show’s organisers did not consider the lack of industry support for Melbourne had stemmed from lacklustre attendances at last year’s Sydney-based motor show.

“We’ve got no evidence to support that,” Mr Tyrie said.

However, he would not say how many car-makers had committed to June’s event.

“We did have a number of brands very much committed to exhibiting and doing some fantastic and very innovative things at the show.” Mr Tyrie said the committee would “continue to review the merits of each show” to determine how future events would be run.

The cancellation of the Melbourne show is the first time the event has been pulled off the calendar in more than 60 years. The previous time it happened followed the outbreak of World War 2.

The cancellation also means that Melbourne would have played host to only one show in the last three years after the change to the shared format that alternated the event between Sydney and Melbourne pushed the southern venue out of sync with the calendar.

The 2013 Australian International Motor Show was slated to run from June 28 to July 7.