AUTOMOTIVE WORLD on steady growth path

Japan’s annual AUTOMOTIVE WORLD has confirmed its position as the leading Asian trade show dealing with automotive technology.

New attendance records were set at the 2016 AUTOMOTIVE WORLD show held in Tokyo, Japan, in January 2016. The eighth edition of the show attracted 781 exhibitors (22.8% more than in 2015), and over 27,000 registered visitors (8.3% growth over 2015). Some 19,000 delegates attended 67 seminars, most of which were fully booked ahead of the show, according to the organizers. “The best part of the show is its size. The bigger the show becomes, the more people visit it and the more businesses are created,” said speaker Takefumi Shiga, General Manager, Body Design Div. 1, Toyota.

“This is our third year at EV Japan. We’ve expanded each year and I’m delighted to see that next year we’ll be having a booth twice the size,” added exhibitor Jon Aitchison, Sevcon Vice President of Sales for UK and Far East.

The venue was full of engineers of major automakers and Tier 1&2s from all over the world from the morning of the first day, according to the show’s statistics and exhibitors. “At AUTOMOTIVE WORLD, we can meet not only Japanese or Chinese companies, but also European ones. That’s what is good about this show,” said visitor Hyounwoo Lee, President / CEO of the Hyundai Motor Japan R&D Center. “It’s very necessary for us that a show like this covers not only Japanese exhibitors but also exhibitors who can deliver worldwide,” added conference speaker Thomas Rudlaff, Head of Body Design of Next Generation Mercedes Vehicles, Daimler.

Looking at the visitor trends at the exhibition of car electronics technology the stands dealing with ADAS/autonomous driving gained the most attention. The growing number of semiconductor manufacturers also received attention, according to the organizers. On the second floor where the focus was on automotive mechanical technologies, lightweight technology was the center of attention. Also drawing interest were exhibitors dealing with additive manufacturing (3D printing).

The number of shows within-a-show is growing. The five separate themes/shows in 2016 were CAR-ELE Japan, EV Japan, Lightweight Technology Expo, Connected Car JAPAN, and CAR-MECHA Japan. In 2017 a Smart Automotive Factory Expo will be added in response to requests from industry professionals, according to the organizers.

AUTOMOTIVE WORLD 2017 will be held from 18-20 January, 2017.