Group Seeks to Revive Oz Auto Show

Yet another attempt to stage a national auto show Down Under is in the works, with plans for a 4-day event next year to be known as the Australian Motoring Festival and held at the Melbourne Show grounds.

The Victoria Automotive Chamber of Commerce and the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria have joined forces for the event set for March 26-29.

The festival aims to fill the gap after the cancelation of the Australian International Motor Show, an annual event alternating between Sydney and Melbourne. It was a joint venture between VACC and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and lasted only three years.

Until 2010, the two cities staged separate annual exhibitions. Melbourne's was known as the Melbourne International Motor Show. In 2004, Sydney’s event was renamed the Australian International Motor Show from the Sydney Motor Show.

The Melbourne event was held from 1925 to 2009 and was the longest-running auto show in Australia.

VACC Executive Director David Purchase says the festival will differ from the traditional display-style motor show by providing visitors with multiple opportunities to interact with vehicles and vehicle technology through test drives and simulations.

“The Australian Motoring Festival is a new concept and devised to connect automotive manufacturers and distributors with the vehicle-buying public in a new and dynamic way,” Purchase says in a statement.

“Extensive research shows that people want to be able to engage and interact with the exhibits and activities at motoring events, and that’s what we intend to deliver at the Australian Motoring Festival.”

The festival will combine displays and exhibits with interactive on- and off-road driving experiences. New and historic, cars and motorcycles will be shown, and there also will be aftermarket exhibits, a major industry conference, Australia’s Best Car award recipients, the VACC Automotive Design Awards winners and family entertainment, including car-themed film screenings and children’s activities.

RACV General Manager Motoring and Mobility Gordon Oakley says the aim is to deliver a world-class motoring event.

“The Australian Motoring Festival will provide a wonderful experience for our members and their families, with visitors of all ages treated to a vast array of memorable and informative experiences,” he says.

“This will be an entirely new event on the Australian motoring calendar, and it will be a very different experience from the traditional motor show.”

VACC represents the retail automotive industry in Victoria and Tasmania and has 5,500 members. RACV is a motoring organization with 2.1 million members.