This year it was canceled due to the corona crisis and the Motor Show is in danger of being canceled next year. This time because D’Ieteren and Stellantis, the two largest car groups, may both drop out, De Tijd and La Libre Belgique reported on Wednesday. According to experts, a new cancellation would mean the definitive end of the largest fair in Belgium.
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The next Motor Show should normally take place between 14 and 23 January 2022 at the Heysel Palaces in Brussels. However, there is a chance that the largest fair in our country (with approximately 500,000 visitors annually, the Motor Show is twice as large as the Batibouw construction fair) will not take place next year either.
According to De Tijd, D’Ieteren, the listed importer of the Volkswagen brands (Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti), has already decided on Tuesday not to participate in the next Motor Show and also the merger group. Stellantis (Peugeot, Fiat, Opel and Citroën) would seriously consider dropping out. Stellantis is expected to make a final decision on Wednesday, though the merger group’s spokesperson declined to comment on Tuesday.
If Stellantis also stays away, there probably won’t be many cars to admire at the Motor Show. Many other brands have made it a condition for their participation that “at least two-thirds of the market must be present”. And that would not be possible without D’Ieteren and Stellantis, because together they account for almost half of all new cars sold in our country.
According to Febiac, the auto sector federation of our country, a new cancellation would mean “a sledgehammer blow”. The Motor Show still represents a major source of income for the sector. “We will decide before the end of the week whether the Motor Show can take place or not,” CEO Andreas Cremer told De Tijd. “But if it goes through, it will be the traditional way.”
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