| The Middle
East International Motor Show is a biennial
event and is the largest and the most
popular international automotive show
in the region. The last exhibition held
in 2001 had a participation of more than
140 exhibitors representing 300 companies
from 25 countries. The 2003 Motor Show
will showcase the latest in the global
automobile industry, featuring passenger
cars, off road vehicles, concept cars,
sports cars and motorcycles from a host
of international manufacturers. |
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The
Dubai Motor Show organised by the Dubai World
Trade Centre (DWTC) is ranked among the top
10 automotive exhibitions in terms of number
and quality of exhibitors and visitors and
the quality of organisation. This year the
visitor turnout at the Show exceeded 41,200,
including a large number of VIPs, members
of the Royal Families and top ranking government
officials from the Gulf region. It also attracted
a large number of overseas visitors from Europe
and the neighbouring region, including Iran
and the Indian Subcontinent.
"The visitor
turnout exceeded our expectations and the
exhibitor feedback indicates that most of
our exhibitors had a successful show and have
committed to return to the show in 2003,"
said Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Corporate Manager
- Exhibitions, DWTC.
The responses
from the world's leading automobile manufacturers
present at the event indicate that they were
happy about the quality of visitors. "This
year the Middle East International Motor Show
has been the most successful for the BMW Group
in terms of enquiries and the number of orders
received for all our 2002 models, especially
the totally re-designed flagship BMW 7 Series
model and the all-new MINI Cooper. Our stand
was filled to capacity on the opening day
of the show, and customers were pressing us
to accept deposits on cars immediately. We
had some visitors offer us twice as much for
the 7-Series models that are on display,"
said Mr. Robert Bailey-McEwan, Managing Director,
BMW Group Middle East.
Some 40 leading
vehicle manufacturers participated at the
Motor Show along with more than 200 automobile
parts and accessories manufacturers from around
the world. Some of the well-know brands represented
at the exhibition included Toyota, BMW, Mercedes,
Jeep, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Porsche,
Volvo, Volkswagen, Audi, General Motors, Nissan,
Skoda, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Hyundai, Pirelli
and Bridgestone.
"The Dubai
Motor Show this year has been the biggest
and the best for General Motors. With a stand
covering more than 2,100 square metres we
have been able to present the entire range
of our latest models to the Middle East region.
The increased size of our presence at the
show underlines our commitment to the success
of the show and the continued confidence in
the UAE and regional markets," said Paul
Johnson, Regional Director, General Motors.
DaimlerChrysler,
which exhibited some of its breath-taking
models including the SL 500 roadster, S 63
AMG, Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge, attracted big
crowd to its stand. "DaimlerChrysler
Middle East is delighted to once again be
participating at the 6th Middle East International
Motor Show. We feel that the Motor Show is
constantly improving in terms of being a very
professionally organised event. The Middle
East is an extremely important market for
us and we invest well in presenting our products
at each and every Motor Show in this region.
We can also see that the other automotive
manufacturers share our view in the way they
have invested in their stands and have presented
their products at this year's Motor Show.
We look forward to participating at the next
Middle East Motor Show in 2003," said
Per V. Rasmussen, President and CEO, DaimlerChrysler
Middle East.
The Land Rover
with its innovative outdoor stand, which featured
a rock-climbing wall, attracted a lot of attention
and participation. "People enjoyed the
outdoor design which, of course, is the natural
habitat of the Land Rover brand. The Dubai
Motor Show is an important event for the auto
industry in the Middle East and we felt exhibitors
and visitors were positive and supportive
of the show," said Matt McClurg, Marketing
Manager, Land Rover Middle East & Africa.
The Dubai-based
Future Motors presented a number of exquisitely
designed cars from companies including Herbert
Hartage GmbH & Co, Carlsson Autotechnik
GmbH and TechArt Automobildesign GmbH and
Pagani at the Motor Show.
Four well-known
car tuning and design companies present at
the show included the Switzerland-based, Fab
Design which specialises in high end Mercedes
models, Hamann, a German company that specialises
in tuning BMW and Ferrari cars, 962 Derek
Bell, which designs sports models on Porsche
platforms and Brabus, the exclusive Mercedes
tuner from Germany. "There is a big market
for specially designed and tuned cars in the
Middle East. We are exhibiting at the Motor
Show for the first time and have received
a large number of genuine enquiries,"
said R Rysanek, president and designer of
Fab Design.
Motor Parts
& Accessories 2001, the parts and accessories
segment of the show attracted participation
from the world's leading automobile parts
& accessories manufacturers, including
tyre companies and in-car entertainment equipment
manufacturers and auto industry consultants.
"Dubai hosts one of the most prominent
Motor Shows in the region, and we feel it
is the ideal platform to introduce to the
automotive industry the many innovative solutions
we are developing," said Abdulla Al Ghandi,
Chairman, Amautage Automotive, a Dubai-based
automobile industry consultant, who offers
a comprehensive suite of integrated products
and business solutions for the global automotive
industry.
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