Singapore to host automotive trade fair
By Neil McDonald
CAR component manufacturers from throughout the Asia-Pacific region will have the opportunity to strut their stuff at the first Automechanika Asia '98 exhibition, to be held next year in Singapore.
The event is expected to lure 250 exhibitors from the Asia- Pacific region. It will run from April 27 to April 29.
Automechanika Asia is designed as a huge trade fair for automotive manufacturing and service providers. It is not a car show as such.
One of the star attractions will be the Australian Concept Car.
The concept car will be a running "mule" -- a fully prepared car -- designed to showcase Australian component manufacturing and design ideas.
It is being designed by Millard Design, which is also involved in the Maleo project in Indonesia. After Singapore, the concept car will be shown in Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea.
It will make an appearance at the Jakarta motor show next July.
Automechanika Asia is being put together by seasoned trade fair organizers Messe Frankfurt. Messe Frankfurt organizes the huge Frankfurt motor show.
It also puts together the huge Automechanika Frankfurt, which attracted 3400 trade exhibitors from 149 countries last year. More than 150,000 people visited the five-day event.
Messe Frankfurt's Asia-Pacific regional director, Peter Thomaschewski, is cautiously optimistic about the prospects for the Singapore event.
"Sixty percent of exhibitors will come from the region and 40 percent from Europe, those Europeans who have exhibited at Automechanika in Frankfurt," he said.
Indonesian government officials have expressed a great deal of interest in the Singapore show. However, as yet, no Indonesian component makers have taken space.
"They are very keen to check it out," he said.
Thomaschewski said he also hoped the Singapore show would facilitate some neutral ground to discuss regional problems and differences in the car industry.
He said with the stagnating markets of Europe, the focus of the automotive industry was firmly on Asia. The Asian region is acknowledged as having the fastest growing automotive industry in the world.
He believed governments could use the Automechanika model in other areas of trade and manufacturing to gain international exposure.
Messe Frankfurt has established offices in Singapore to deal directly with participating exhibitors.
In March, the group held an Automechanika Beijing which was a huge success.
A similar event has been held in Tokyo. Now it's Singapore's turn.
Thomaschewski said Messe Frankfurt had divided the Asian market into three specific areas -- Japan, China and then Singapore, which he believes is ideally placed as a neutral site to represent the Asia-Pacific region.
Messe Frankfurt believes Singapore was not only the heart of ASEAN but it was also the hub for the trade of automotive parts and accessories in Southeast Asia.
Ultimately, the show is designed to put all component manufacturers into one arena, he said.
Thomaschewski said he believed governments could use the Automechanika model to help promote other areas of trade and manufacturing.
Messe Frankfurt has had a long involvement with Asia. For the past 10 years, it had organized textile shows in Hong Kong.
A need to diversify away from textiles and expand its base prompted it to move into the automotive exhibits.