7:15 am, August 6, 2008
OVER 470,000 people visited this year’s British International Motor Show.
That’s 14 per cent up on 2006 – enough for the organisers to deem it a success.
Indeed, ‘it reaffirms the event’s position as a must-see show on the international motoring calendar.’ Which is just the news all of us want to hear.
A strong motor show can only help strengthen the industry as a whole. And its position on the calendar for 2010 should be assured (not least because London’s Excel has a 10-year licence to host the event)
Certainly, this year’s show was a big step forward. It had 23 global debuts, from 60 manufacturers, which also displayed 600 cars. Total worth of all this metal? £37 million.
‘The success of this year’s Motor Show can be attributed not only to the quality of the global debuts and the support of such a fantastic collection of motor manufacturers, but also to the wide range of interactive attractions and family-friendly features,’ said Kirsty Perkinson, marketing director for the show.
This is an interesting point to make. For the show wasn’t just about new cars – it had yachts, motorhomes, classic cars, quad bikes… 6000 people drove a car in Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom Challenge, while 26,000 people rode on Land Rover’s Ultimate Experience.
Such diversification seems to have struck a chord with visitors… we wonder if there are lessons for drawing people into showrooms, too? Give bored kids and reluctant mum something to do – a reason to visit – and that’s all the more time with dad to sell him something special!
Mind you, things may be busy enough anyway. Honda took 17 per cent more leads and 30 per cent more test drive bookings than in 2006; Peugeot increased customer contacts by a third. Here is the worth of the show in action – generating leads for you. They should be flowing through any time soon…
