Car shows lose appeal

– Frankfurt’s vast car show, which opens next week, is already getting attention of the wrong kind – for its impressive list of noshows.

Besides the glaring absence of Tesla and its electric Model 3, the roster of big names staying away has grown this year to include such venerable brands as Nissan, Peugeot, Fiat, Volvo, Jeep, Mitsubishi and Infiniti.

The uncertain fortunes of the traditional car show mirror those of an industry in flux, its incumbents threatened by emissions regulation, tech giants and the sharing economy.

“Car shows need a new approach,” said Patrick Koller, chief executive of Faurecia, a parts supplier with €19 billion (R294 billion) in global sales. “Otherwise they will disappear.”

Frankfurt and Paris host two of the world’s biggest shows in alternate years, punctuated by the Detroit show in January and other events in China, Japan, the US and Switzerland.

But many of the traditional gatherings have seen visitor numbers fall since the turn of this century, when most new cars were still unveiled under their lights, framed by showgirls.

The decline may be accelerating. Paris attendance was down 14% last year – with fear of attacks also weighing on tourism – and January’s Detroit show drew 9 000 fewer visitors.

The sense of upheaval is acute in Germany, as Frankfurt prepares for its first car show opening since the Volkswagen emissions scandal blew up. Days before the event, Chancellor Angela Merkel was urging local officials not to ban diesels, as her re-election campaign drew opposition fire over perceived government cosiness with the industry.

But diesel scandals are just one of the problems challenging carmakers and the legendary largesse of their trade shows.

The emergence of tech as the main battleground for the connected, autonomous cars of the future has drawn exhibitors to competing events such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Footfall is becoming less important, anyhow. Thanks to social media, Daimler reckons its Mercedes-Benz innovations reach the same global audience of 1 billion whether unveiled in Frankfurt or at CES – a trade-only show closed to the public, with less than a fifth of the German event’s attendance numbers.

“Daimler’s media strategy has changed with the rising significance of tech,” a spokesperson said. –