Exclusive: This is what the 2022 Brussels Motor Show will look like | Auto55.be
huhThe Brussels Motor Show continues. But it will not be a fair like other years. A lot of big brands send their cats and the purse is getting smaller. What will it be then?
Without motorcycles
originally an attempt was made to set up an edition of the motorbike show. ‘Moto’ can still be found under the logo on the official motor show page. But it will be a pure motor show, without two-wheelers (with some attention to vans, albeit limited). The motorcycle brands that are traditionally also present at the fair and occupy the lateral palaces are not included this time. There was insufficient enthusiasm among the importers involved. Harley Davidson KTM, Duca Vespa, Suzuki, etc… soon begin to be interested in participating. Only Honda confirmed quickly. BMW agreed, but under that a ‘representative part of all brands would be displayed’. In the end, that threshold was far from being met. Febiac then decided to court the motorcycle brands again by 2023, for the hundredth edition of the Motor Show.
Shows about new technology
Although the motor show shrinks from nine to six palaces, the ticket price remains at the same level as the 2019 edition. Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Volvo, Mazda, Skoda, Seat, Jaguar and Land-Rover, among others, are not there. In return, there are mainly new Chinese challengers: DFSK, Bestune, FAW, Aiways… Brands that each offer no more than a handful of models to the Belgian consumer.
The organizer apparently wants to offer a lower ticket price. Central to that plan are shows that are being worked out and will be staged in the patio between Palaces 8 and 9. confirmed, the organizer even wants to install stands. The shows will focus on new technological evolutions within the automotive sector. Propaganda for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, in other words.
During past editions, the space in the patio was still used by WeAreMobility. A Febiac platform that wants to make people enthusiastic about a job in the automotive sector. That no longer seems necessary. Febiac’s own initiative does not take a stand at the fair.
supercar zone
The umbrella federation of car manufacturers also thinks it can placate visitors by bringing exclusive vehicles to the Motor Show. This happened in the past under the ‘Dreamcars’ sub-fair, for which visitors have to purchase a separate entrance ticket. The denominator ‘Dreamcars’ seems to leave Febiac in the closet. On temporary plans, part of palace 8 is now colored as ‘Supercar zone’.
The Supercar zone does not require an additional entrance ticket, but neither will it approach the level of the Dreamcars fair of the past. Febiac lists BMW tuner Alpina, Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and McLaren among the brands that ‘participate in the motor show’. Some brands have known to the Auto55.be editors that they are extremely limited. “We park one car there, lock it and come and collect it at the end of the fair. We have no representative and no booth. At most you will be able to scan a QR code”. Ginion, the importer of Rolls-Royce and McLaren, said that they “are doing their best to expose the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge and the McLaren Artura, but it is not certain that these models will arrive on time.”
Buy tickets online and reserve 4-hour slots
As mentioned, a ticket will cost 15 euros, just like with the previous edition. If you go by car and want to park there, you also have to set aside 10 euros for the parking space. In the context of previous editions, it will no longer be possible to buy tickets at the box office. Every visitor will have to order their ticket online in advance via autosalon.be and must be in possession of a Covid Ticket.
He will also have to book a slot in which he will visit the Motor Show. Organizer Febiac that way of working in a recent press release, but does not provide concrete information. Only that the time slot “will be more than enough to let them visit the show in a relaxed way”. The Auto55.be editors learned that slots of 4 hours are involved.
Traceability only in theory, not in practice
“the organisation not planning to to control”
Organizer Febiac says it will strictly monitor the implementation of measures and by working with time slots there is a possibility to do contact tracing. Sources close to the organization to Auto55.be know that the salon organization does not intend to effectively organize a conclusive check. “Anyone who presents themselves with a ticket to a time slot in the afternoon – say from 1 pm to 5 pm – at 10 am, will simply be let in.” Once inside, there is nothing that prevents a visitor from making his time longer than the chosen time slot.