10.12.2023
Essen Motor Show ensures full halls and happy faces

Around 500 exhibitors inspire with sporty vehicles and accessories

Around 500 exhibitors inspire with sporty vehicles and accessories

The Essen Motor Show has successfully reached its goal. The festival for sporty vehicles attracted over 200.000 visitors to Messe Essen from December 2 to 10 (Preview Day: December 1). Around 500 exhibitors presented their products and trade fair innovations in the areas of Performance & Racing, Tuning & Lifestyle, Motorsport and Classic Cars to an enthusiastic audience. The highlights included several premieres as well as visits from well-known athletes and celebrities. A striking feature this year: sustainably powered vehicles have firmly established themselves in the line-up.

"Whether with or without an electric motor: the fascination for the car is unbroken. This year's Essen Motor Show has impressively demonstrated this. We are on exactly the right track with our open-technology approach. I am delighted that the exhibitors and the public have honored this so impressively," explains Oliver P. Kuhrt, Managing Director of Messe Essen. "We are delighted to see that the number of visitors is at the same high level as last year and that, according to exhibitors, there is also lively buying interest," adds Harald Schmidtke, Managing Director of the Association of Automobile Tuners, which is a partner of the Essen Motor Show.

TUNE IT! SAFE! presents new campaign vehicle: VW ID.Buzz

The first eye-catcher at the car festival was provided by the TUNE IT! SAFE initiative, which unveiled its new campaign vehicle on Preview Day: a tuned VW ID.Buzz in police colors and with blue lights. The tuning company Irmscher gave the electric van with a maximum output of 150 kW new suspension springs and wheels as well as a stylish aerodynamics package. The initiative will use the freshly souped-up van to promote safe and reputable tuning at trade fairs and other events in the coming year. Other sustainably powered vehicles could be experienced at exhibitors such as Hankook, H&R, Lackas Rhein Ruhr, Next eShare.one and tuningXperience.

The KW automotive group also set an exclamation mark, presenting the Lamborghini SC63 at its stand together with tuner and scene star JP Kraemer. The 680 hp racing car will compete in the traditional 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2024 and was one of the most photographed vehicles at the Essen Motor Show. Other popular photo motifs included the cars from the special celebrating 75 years of NASCAR in Hall 3 as well as the Daihatsu Hijet "Kevin" and the award-winning Mercurius GTC from tuningXperience. The visits by tuner Sidney Hoffmann, former BVB players Kevin Großkreutz and Patrick Owomoyela and numerous other influencers and scene celebrities also attracted attention.

Exhibitors are satisfied and want to come back

The Essen Motor Show also scored points in the motorsport industry. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Ziegahn, President of the Deutscher Sportfahrer Kreis, states: "For the DSK, the Essen Motor Show is a must-attend event. This is where we meet our members, friends and partners and where a constructive exchange takes place. At the same time, we can present our offers for members, for example the trackdays organized by the DSK. For several years now, the trade fair has provided the perfect setting to honor our most successful athletes. For the second time, a panel discussion of the DSK Women's Club with top-class participants took place at our stand."

The conclusion of the other exhibitors was also positive: according to the survey, 96 percent were satisfied with the number of visitors to the Essen Motor Show. 95 percent also stated that they were able to reach all or some of their most important target groups. Accordingly, 93 percent were satisfied with their participation in the fair and 94 percent already know that they want to exhibit in Essen again in the future. The opportunity will arise from November 30 to December 8, 2024 (Preview Day: November 29).

On the occasion of the Essen Motor Show, the consulting firm BBE Automotive presented the results of a recent study on the tuning market together with partners such as the Association of Automotive Tuners. The results show that the scene is dominated by models from the German manufacturers BMW, Audi, VW and Mercedes-Benz. In addition to the production of vehicle manufacturers' own performance lines, the study reveals a tuning market with a volume of over two billion euros in Germany alone. Wheels/tyres and chassis components account for the largest share of this.