Brussels Motor Show (2023) receives lowest number of visitors ever
The 2023 edition of the Brussels Motor Show (January 14 – January 22) closed its doors yesterday. Despite a historically low number of visitors, this 100th edition was a success.
After two canceled editions in 2021 and 2022, we finally got another motor show in Brussels this year. The 2023 edition was marked by the electric car and the rise of Chinese manufacturers. With the exception of Volvo and Mercedes, almost all brands were there. Nevertheless, the salon became smaller in size, spread over six Brussels Expo palaces.
Organizer Febiac had 300,000 visitors, but that eventually became 265,000. That is the lowest number in recent decades.
Classically, the motor show alternates every year between a “small salon” and a “large salon”. The small show focuses on the smaller market of light commercial vehicles and motorcycles, while the large show shows most passenger cars. The small salon always attracted fewer visitors, but in recent years the visitor numbers of the small and the large salon have been converging, as you can see in the graphs below. The small salon was on the rise with a number of visitors of 442,111 during the last edition in 2019. The large salon decreased from 756,900 visitors in 2000 to 501,189 in 2020.
The 2023 edition was in fact a “large salon”, but on a smaller surface. With 265,000 visitors, the salon seems to be falling off a cliff. Nevertheless, Gabriel Goffoy, director of Febiac and the motor show, speaks of a phenomenal success. After all, the motor show remains the largest indoor event in Belgium.
By way of comparison, the Velofollies “bicycle salon” in Kortrijk (20 – 22 January 2023) attracted 40,000 visitors this year, while the (electric) bicycle still gaining popularity.
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According to Goffoy, mainly commercial vehicle drivers are currently interested in the motor show. In the early years, companies will driven by taxation, massive immersion should switch to electric cars. The private individual shows interest in electric cars but, mainly due to the high purchase prices, is not even giving the cat out of the tree.
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