The car show for car professionals

UP TO 12,000 CAR FANS ARE EXPECTED AT AUTORAMA — A NEW EVENT WHERE THE NATION’S BEST SPECIALISTS IN THE AUTO BUSINESS WILL GET TOGETHER TO PROMOTE THEIR PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND SKILLS

How do you celebrate specialist businesses and the wider automotive sector that holds it all together? You hold an industry and trade show and surround those businesses with the cars that they helped to build or keep running. Then you invite the general public to come to see who is making these extraordinary vehicles — to witness the finished product and the businesses that made it possible.

Autorama — a new event planned for Mystery Creek Events Centre in Hamilton on 10 – 12 November, 2023 — aims to do just that: bring together businesses supplying the owners of performance, classic, hot rods, imports, 4WD, motorbikes, and much more with parts, services, specialised tools, and fabrication work.

Put together by the same team that has been managing the Special Interest Vehicle Association of NZ (SIVANZ) for the past six years, Autorama 2023 has been created to demonstrate, and celebrate, the significance of the automotive industry supplying parts, services, and expertise to the special interest vehicle sector. To make the event a success SIVANZ is inviting everyone in the automotive sector to get involved.

Big And Beautiful

A SIVANZ business survey in 2019 estimated that the businesses supporting the special interest vehicle sector contribute an estimated $5 billion annually to the New Zealand economy. At that time the value of special interest vehicles in private ownership was well in excess of $3.4 billion; some pundits believe the figure now is closer to $6 billion. It is clear that industry and car people are a big part of New Zealand and the economy, and the Autorama 2023 team think that is worth getting together to celebrate.

When most people look at hot rod, classic, modified Japanese, or performance cars that have had thousands of hours poured into them, very few see the businesses behind the car — those that sold the tools to put the car together, or that rebuilt the transmission, or the specialised machines and operator knowledge that went into reconditioning the engine, the computer programming, the metal fabrication, or the skill required to mix and apply modern paints. That means they don’t know where to go when they want those specialist skills for their own projects — Autorama is the opportunity to promote your business to new customers.

Everyone from the small business owner to the largest will have the opportunity to talk face to face with like-minded industry peers and create new business relationships. Only automotive businesses will be exhibiting.

Up to 12,000 people are expected to pass through the gates at Autorama 2023 to view the exhibits and cars on show and make purchasing decisions; they want to buy from exhibiting businesses. Statistically, around 40 per cent of show attendees are looking to buy tools at a show, 30 per cent will buy car care products, and about 30 per cent are thinking about changing their wheels/ tyres in the next 12 months. A further 20 per cent are looking for performance parts, so the range of opportunity for exhibitors is huge. We all know cars are important to customers and a show like this gives them the fuel and motivation to get projects finished, which means getting those tools, parts, expertise, and services from the connections they make at the show.

The event was originally scheduled for March but was deferred to November to give some key stakeholders more time to plan their exhibits and to coincide with the completion of some freshly built hot rods, competition, and classic cars. This date change has meant some details in the exhibitor and sponsor pack have to be amended.

Come and celebrate your industry, cars and people — the Autorama team would love to see you there!

If businesses are interested in participating at the trade show, a copy of the pack can be downloaded (from the first week in February) from autoramacarshow.co.nz, or please email the Autorama team at info@sivents.co.nz for more information.