The de facto Kiwi Motor Show

By The Press 09 Oct 2009

Left: ON SHOW: Mercedes-Benz.

The Speedshow in Auckland is the nearest thing we have to a motor show in New Zealand, says PAUL OWEN.

The Americans have Detroit, Europe has the motor extravaganzas in Paris and Frankfurt, and the Japanese flock to the Tokyo Motor Show; however attempts to stage a New Zealand Motor Show have repeatedly stalled over the years.

That could be about to change after the recent 2009 Speedshow in Auckland demonstrated that it could easily evolve into a de facto motor show for this country, with plenty of new car and new motorcycle distributors using the event to display their wares. Those of the new vehicle industry who took part all agreed that it was a rare opportunity to come face-to-face with their customers.

With the demise of the Big Boys Toys event, the Speedshow quickly became the only motor show in our largest town, and it possibly had the attraction for new vehicle distributors of not having to compete for the attention of show-goers with exhibitions of radio-controlled models, new ways of shaving, and gaming consoles (as with BBT).

The new motorcycle hall was virtually a full house in terms of distributor participation, with only Kawasaki and Harley-Davidson shunning the exhibition. Never mind, grey importers of those brands showed a willingness to display the bikes to the 18,500 show-goers that their official distributors lacked.

In other halls there were displays by roughly half the new car distributors, with the Ford, Mazda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Kia, HSV, and Lamborghini brands all on display. No doubt it was the focus of the show that made it easy for these brands to participate.

Each displayed its sportiest cars, with Mercedes introducing new AMG models at the show, BMW targeting the M-Sport customer, and Kia dressing up ordinary Ceratos and Souls to look like escapees from the set of The Fast and the Furious.

But will the name of the show inhibit its aspirations to become a marketing vehicle for the wider motor industry? As the tag implies, speed was the theme of the show, with half of the 120 exhibitors coming from virtually every code of the motorsport world.

After two successful years in terms of numbers coming through the gates (10 per cent up this year), the shows exhibitor base is largely comprised of those who either sell fast machines or make existing ones faster. Co-promoter, Gavin Shaw, admits the shows name could be a turn-off for those motor industry brands now primarily focused on safety and sustainability.

'We knew it could be a problem, and thought long and hard about it this year. In the end, we simply couldnt think of a better name for it.'

For those prepared to sniff more than petrol, there were displays focused on the future. Segways New Zealand distributor took the opportunity to get people to try their mobile electric platforms, and the University of Auckland showed off its latest development in electric vehicle technology.

The university's commercial branch, Auckland UniServices Limited, has developed a new wireless charging system for electric vehicles that effectively eliminates the plug before plug-in vehicles become popular. The man behind the development of Inductive Power Transfer (IPT), Dr Anthony Thomson, used the show to point out IPTs advantages in improving urban aesthetics, durability, and user-safety.

The electric vehicle simply parks on wireless transfer pads concealed in a weather-proof and tamperproof housing, and sucks power out of the national grid via an on-board controller.

With no need for the owner to plug the vehicle in, the danger of getting a shock is eliminated. Look for IPT-equipped carparks to appear in a city near you soon. Look too, for a significant jump in the $70 million that UniServices already receives each year in intellectual property royalties.

For Shaw, it is the variety of the displays that is the key to the Speedshows future success. A show focused purely on new motors hasnt worked in the past in a country with such a small population base. By mixing new vehicles and new technologies with the motorsport and custom car industries, the Speedshow could have hit a formula for sustained success.

Look for the concept to expand to other New Zealand cities in the future.