Essen, December 9, 2012

Essen Motor Show with a Slight Plus in Spite of the Onset of Winter: Over 340,000 Horsepower Fans were Enthusiastic

- New Concept was Well-Received

The 45th Essen Motor Show has crossed the finishing line: With over 340,000 visitors in total, the vehicle fair at which motorsport and automobile individuality are the top priorities was able to gain slightly compared with the previous years in spite of the onset of winter. "That shows: The direction is correct. We are once again driving in the passing lane," Frank Thorwirth, Chairman and CEO of Messe Essen, makes an initial assessment. "Not only the course of the fair and the strong response from the visitors but also, above all, their top marks for the fair are an unmistakable sign that our new fair concept is taking full effect," according to Thorwirth. "Together with the exhibitors and the visitors, we will extend it even further and will intensively fill it with life in the form of new i"The four pillars of the range on offer, Tuning, Motorsport, Sporty Series Vehicles and Classic Cars, have become firmly established as the stable foundation of the fair. Here in the Rhine-Ruhr conurbation, we bring a public with an absolute affinity for cars together with our exhibitors and offer unadulterated car emotion. Our visitors are enthusiastic." According to Thorwirth, the Essen Motor Show has, already from the overall appearance, demonstrated an extremely high optical quality.

Sporty and Individual: Automobile Manufacturers on the Same Wavelength as the Target Group

The automobile manufacturers presented themselves in an absolutely sporty way adapted to the car-mad target group of the Essen Motor Show: BMW, Citroën, Ford, Mini, Opel, Renault Motorsport, Skoda, Subaru, Toyota Motorsport and Mercedes-Benz on the booth of the "Mercedes fans". They put the spotlight not only on their sporty and new motorsport models but also on lifestyle vehicles, individualisation programmes, tuning products and sporty accessories "ex works".

Concentration on Individuality, Motorsport and Tuning is Tapping the Pulse of the Visitors

The fact that the fair is tapping the pulse of the visitors with the concentration on individuality, motorsport and tuning is also reflected in the survey of the visitors. "Over 80 percent of the guests are interested in tuning," emphasises Egon Galinnis, Managing Director of Messe Essen. While over half of the visitors use the fair in order to buy or order something directly from the available range, every other guest at the fair is planning: "My next car will be a tuned one." The proportion of active motorsportsmen and motorsportswomen at the fair has risen to seven percent in the meantime. "That is a small sensation," according to Galinnis who stresses: "Essen is the quintessential meeting place of motorsport at the conclusion of the year." No fewer than 65 percent of all the visitors have a quite particular interest in motorsport. Furthermore, the fair is characterised by a faithful regular public: "One in four of the visitors comes every year." And one factor in favour of the scope and quality of the overall range on offer is: "The duration of the stay has increased substantially. 20 percent of the visitors spend two days at the fair."

"Absolute Must for Car and Motorsport Fans"

No matter whether the large presentation of DTM ("German Touring Car Championship"), the special shows entitled "40 Years of the World Sports Car Championship" and "50 Years of the Porsche 911", the big Motorsport World of ADAC ("General German Automobile Club") in Hall 12 or live motorsport in the Motorsport Arena - the 45th Essen Motor Show surfed at the very top of the current wave of enthusiasm for motorsport. "The fair has shown why it is, so to speak, an absolute must for car fans and especially for motorsport fans," Hermann Tomczyk, ADAC Sport President, paid tribute.

Business and Networking Platform for the Motorsport Scene

To an ever increasing extent, the Essen Motor Show is also developing into the business meeting place of the motorsport scene. Not only did current top drivers such as the Formula 1 driver Nico Hülkenberg or the DTM champion Bruno Spengler congregate here but leading representatives from the motorsport and media sectors also discussed topical aspects of everything to do with motorsport sponsoring, e.g. at the 1st Sponsors Motorsport Summit. The countless discussions also behind the scenes at the fair demonstrate: The Essen Motor Show is an indispensable networking platform - for the industry, the drivers, the teams, the race organisers, the equipment suppliers and the sponsors.

Most Important Performance Show for the Tuning Sector Anywhere in the World

For the tuning sector too, the Essen Motor Show was once again a total success. Prof. h.c. Bodo Buschmann, CEO of Brabus GmbH and President of VDAT, Verband der Automobil Tuner ("Association of Automobile Tuners"): "It has once again clearly highlighted its significance as the leading tuning performance show anythere in the world." Buschmann attests a high visitor quality to the fair and has observed: "A lot of the guests at the fair are buying something. The new vehicle models which were already presented in tuned versions at the fair are simply making people want a new car." The onrush on the booths of VDAT and the 'Tune it! Safe!' initiative was considerably greater than otherwise. Buschmann: "The possibility of inquiring about your points at the Federal Motor Vehicle Office proved to be a hit at the fair."

Classic Cars: Vehicle Quality is the Decisive Purchasing Criterion

More than ever, the vehicle quality is the absolutely decisive purchasing criterion in the Classic Cars sector. There is a demand for vehicles which are in a very good original condition or have been restored in a proper way faithful to the original. Anton Leon Franssen, Managing Director of SIHA which organises the Classic Cars sector: "Driving off immediately and having fun immediately is the motto amongst the buyers." They do not mind spending more money on that either. Franssen: "Good classic cars have their price - and that is paid." Classic automobiles needing a great deal of restoration can only be sold with great difficulty. Moreover, the customers pay very great attention to the reputation of the dealers. According to the classic car expert, "Being present on the market for many years definitely pays off."

S46th Essen Motor Show from November 30 to December 8, 2013

The 46th Essen Motor Show will take place at Messe Essen from November 30 to December 8, 2013. It will be preceded by the Press and Trade Visitor Day on Friday, November 29.