In a short press release, Febiac, the car and two-wheeler importers federation for Belgium and Luxembourg, and the Brussels Motor Show (BMS) organizer, states that its board has decided to cancel the January 2024 edition of the show.

“The aim of Febiac is always to deliver a qualitative and representative experience to visitors,” says the federation. “Because the conditions to achieve this aren’t fulfilled, the Board of Directors has decided to halt the project of a physical show in 2024.”

The decision comes as a surprise. The 100th-anniversary edition at the beginning of 2023 had some excellent critics from almost all the participants. Still, there was one flaw: with only ± 265 000 visitors, the shortened and downsized show fell short of the expected 300 000 to 400 000 by the organizers.

What went wrong?

It isn’t easy to know what happened last Friday at the board meeting, but most likely, VW Group importer D’Ieteren has pulled the plug. Representing more than 20% of the Belgian market on its own, D’Ieteren always seriously influenced the decisions of the importers federation.

As the decision has been made collegially within the board, most lips remain sealed about what happened at the board, but the scarce reactions afterward differ. As Volvo and Mercedes were almost absent in 2023, there was a great danger that the next show would represent less than 70% of the market if D’Ieteren didn’t show up, and others would follow the example. Febiac chose not to take the chance.

Miscalculations

Despite quite euphoric reactions by many concerned people immediately after the show, there were also important things to (re)consider. The Belux car market has been dominated lately by the company car market segment and the rise of premium brands related to this.

The switch to electrification has been a second decisive factor. The high(er) prices and smaller choices of EVs made individual buyers hesitate. But the big fleet deals in the company car market are generally not concluded at the BMS. Therefore, the show primarily attracts the individual Belgian buyer, who has always seen January and the BMS as his moment to see what the market has to offer.

If one visitor’s criticism about the latest BMS edition was really recurrent, it was the lack of affordable (ICE) cars on almost every stand, except maybe for the low-cost brand Dacia and a few others. Unfortunately, many visitors didn’t find their way or were disappointed by the (too expensive) models on show.

Opportunity gone?

With the demise of many other motor shows worldwide, the Brussels Motor Show seemed to have found its second breath. There were more premieres, more top brass people of the manufacturers paying a visit, the Car of the Year award ceremony, and so on.

Car manufacturing groups like Stellantis or Renault Group are disappointed about the decision. “We were ready to do great things at the show next year,” says Renault Belux spokesman Karl Schuybroek. “This annulation is a pity; the motor show was a nice commercial event, one of the largest in Belgium.”

“Normally, we realized almost one-third of our sales to individual buyers via the show,” he continues. “This said, the January car dynamism that has always existed in this country won’t disappear with the show; we will adapt and find other ways to reach the customer as we did during the pandemic.”

“Our stand project and the budget needed for it were already validated,” explains Didier Blokland, speaking for Stellantis. “We are disappointed; it was always a real success for us because visitors were confronted with brands they hadn’t originally considered.”

At Toyota, spokeswoman Ellen De Wilde says that they were pleased with the 2023 edition but that the group will continue with new ways to meet the client, as they’ve already installed since the pandemic, resulting in good figures for the brands.

Talking to the more premium brands, we hear Volvo spokesman René Aerts reiterating what he said a year ago, explaining the absence of Volvo at almost every motor show: “A show doesn’t offer the qualitative environment anymore; our dealers have invested heavily in hosting potential clients and offer them tests and information in the best conditions. So we don’t need the show anymore to reach our objectives.”

The same way of thinking seems to be present at Mercedes, while BMW, still the market leader in Belgium, is as pragmatic as ever. “We don’t exclude organizing a ‘motor show’ ourselves in 2024, on our premises in Bornem, as we did for BMW, Mini, and BMW Motorrad during the pandemic, says spokesperson Jeroen Lissens.

And in the future?

Will the Brussels Motor Show ever return? Nobody knows. Organizer Febiac states that it will continue with its other activities and that the federation’s future no longer depends on the revenues the motor show produces.

‘Instigator’ D’Ieteren remains careful in its comments. “The car market is very complicated for the moment,” says spokesman Jean-Marc Ponteville, “we are facing profound changes in the electric era to come. The decision to cancel the show has been made collegially; we will see what the future will bring.”