The Auto Africa Expo, which will open its doors to the public in the last week of October, promises to be the most comprehensive automotive industry event ever to be staged in Africa.
The Auto Africa Expo, which will open its doors to the public in the last week of October, promises to be the most comprehensive automotive industry event ever to be staged in Africa.
CARtoday.com reported last month that more than R50 million would be invested in the 2002 Auto Africa Expo, and more than 300 exhibitors would participate in the event.
Some of the latest models from around the world, as well as a number of advanced concept vehicles offering a glimpse of future automotive developments and technologies, will be showcased at the Nasrec Exhibition Centre.
This year, the original exhibition’s one hall for passenger and leisure vehicles has grown to almost three full halls that will house the latest offerings from every local manufacturer and importer in the country.
A number of state-of-the-art grand prix cars will be displayed at the stands of suppliers that have international ties with F1. The public will also have access to a 4X4 evaluation track, rally-driving stage and advanced driving sessions.
Auto Africa will also present leaders in the automotive industry with an opportunity to network. An increasingly large contingent of overseas businessmen is expected to evaluate opportunities to utilise the local industry as a market or supplier for a broad range of automotive products and services, a spokesman for Auto Africa 2002 said.
To this end, an innovation at Auto Africa 2002 is the provision of “special facilities manned by expert facilitators to bring together visiting and local businessmen to explore trade opportunities”.
The trucking industry will present it’s latest products in its own dedicated hall, with strong emphasis on catering for interested business people, especially from the areas north of South Africa’s borders. Further halls will provide virtual stand-alone exhibitions for the garage and accident repair industris, the component manufacturing industry and other support industries.
Other business-orientated events include the CAR Conference, a Trucking Solutions Conference to address specific heavy transport issues, the annual conference of the Plastics Institute, the Light and Other Metals Conference and the AGM of the National Association of Automotive Component Manufacturers (Naacam).
A highlight for exhibitors and members of the industry will be the newly-instituted Industry Banquet, scheduled for midway through the event, where an international audience of more than 800 attendees are expected to meet and network.
Some of the industry’s most prestigious awards will also be made at Auto Africa Expo 2002. These include the Motor Industry Man of the Year and Trucking Man of the Year.
“Having established its international credentials through three previous award-winning exhibitions, the Auto Africa Expo has set new benchmarks and is now firmly entrenched as the focal point of the automotive industry oin the African continent,” said a spokesman for Auto Africa Expo 2002.
The event will be open to the public from Wednesday October 23 to Sunday October 27.
