In just nine days (and a press day), the Brussels Motor Show drew almost 350,000 visitors to the Heyzel expo halls. That’s over 42,000 more than the year before (nearly +14%) and proof that the BMS has achieved a status that inevitably leads to the title of the most crucial motor show event in Europe. It just has to persevere…

What’s even more critical: the enthusiasm of visitors, exhibitors, and organizers alike. Never before have 67 car brands exhibited in Brussels, and this year, they were joined by 28 two-wheeler brands (for the first time since 2020) and a significant number of LCV makers.

International scope

The Brussels Motor Show has been for a long time seen as a ‘local sales fair’ when big motor shows like Geneva, Frankfurt (IAA), or Paris (Mondial de l’Automobile) attracted up to 1 million visitors in their premises. But things have changed after the pandemic. Frankfurt died already in 2019 and moved to Munich for a ‘Mobility’ event. Paris is seriously struggling to find its new scope, and Geneva has died unexpectedly after it had heralded that it would organize two shows, one in Geneva and one in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the manufacturers have (re) discovered Brussels. Already much earlier, the CEOs of leading car manufacturers who made the effort to come to Brussels in January were genuinely impressed by the size and quality of the Brussels show, and by the number of visitors it attracted in a small country like Belgium.

But for the big premieres, Brussels was always seen as too small and too local, and the manufacturers preferred Geneva (at the beginning of March) or even Detroit (also in January). But lately, things began to change. The competitors disappeared or became less critical, while Brussels also hosted the European Car of the Year jury for its award symphony, until recently reserved for the Geneva show.

The result was pretty obvious this year: apart from the new Mercedes CLA getting the COTY 2026 award, no less than 11 world premieres and 15 European premieres were unveiled in Brussels. Also significant: an essential delegation of high-ranking automotive managers is finding its way to the ‘capital of Europe’, especially those of the two big French manufacturing groups, but also a lot from the Far East.

And last but not least, an ever-increasing number of international motor journalists have found the way to Brussels. Earlier on, we saw only a bunch of Dutch colleagues descending on the Belgian capital every year, because they haven’t had a real motor show in Amsterdam for more than ten years now. They are now joined by many other nationalities, not only attracted by the COTY award but also by the quality and number of premieres.

Ready for 2027?

To secure its growing importance, Brussels now has to persevere in the direction it has taken. A survey among visitors has also shown that no less than a quarter of all visitors came in the first place for the two-wheelers, a gathering they had missed for over five years. The organizers must certainly secure their presence again for the subsequent editions.

Which brings us to the all-important question mark: will there be a motor show again in 2027? The odds are undoubtedly favorable, but organizer Febiac prefers to analyze the results further with the exhibitors before making the final decision.

For importers/exhibitors, it’s a big show, but the investment is proportionally high. Compared with earlier motor shows in the big manufacturing countries of Europe or in Geneva, they don’t get the same level of support from the mother companies to build and adorn their stands.

So, it’s calculation time again. Every exhibitor will see whether the leads they got from informants at the show (leading interested customers to the respective dealerships) are worth the high costs the motor show requires. A decision is expected in the coming weeks. Expectations are positive; the bar is set high.