2009 MOTOR SHOW, “EXTRA EDITION”
AT BOLOGNAFIERE FROM DECEMBER 4 - 8 2009
The “Extra Edition” of the 2009 Motor Show was presented today by Giada Michetti, Managing Director of GL events Italia, with Federico Minoli, Managing Director of BolognaFiere. The event will take place from December 4 - 8 2009 at BolognaFiere.
Giada Michetti’s speech in full:
“In a year marked by economic crisis, with the international financial system in utter turmoil and the auto industry at the centre of a revolution destined to rewrite the rules for auto brands, international auto exhibitions have really been put to the test.
2009 saw the cancellation of the London show, a below par edition in Detroit, and even a reduction in spaces and visitors at the great Geneva show.
In Barcelona, local organizations made the 2009 edition possible in an attempt not to see the event go down in the very year of its ninetieth anniversary. The local government actually put together a substantial sponsorship package which enabled the organizer to eliminate car maker costs connected to participation and staging the event. This set a unique precedent which undeniably placed the whole auto exhibition sector in difficulty.
The Tokyo show risked being cancelled in Japan. Here, it was Japanese car manufacturers who put up a united front to defend the exhibition. This would be akin to the fate of the Bologna Motor Show resting entirely on Fiat group’s shoulders ….
Further complicating matters is the opinion - common among certain industry managers - that today’s auto shows are no longer useful in launching new products, and that presentations on a grand scale organized independently by auto companies work better. Therefore in Europe, the showcases of Geneva, and Paris and Frankfurt in alternate years, would be sufficient. While on a global level, we can assume the survival of the exhibitions of Detroit– mainly in virtue of the scenario played out in the last few months; and Tokyo – thanks to the power of Japanese national industry.
Add to this brief description of the outlook for exhibitions the fact that Italy is the second market in Europe after Germany, and the first for some brands, outside their domestic market. For this reason it is considered vital for Italy not to loose an exhibition that puts the public – meaning those who buy the cars – at the centre, in Italy’s case, the unique dedication to the eternal passion for cars.
The outlook for the auto sector is faced by another problem. I am referring in particular to the battle being waged in Italy between various trade fair districts (Milan and Parma in the food and building trade product categories, and Milan and Rimini as far as the packaging machines sector is concerned). This battle has been a further setback in producing this edition of the show.
I would now like to retrace the story of Promotor International’s work over the last nine months with you - a firm that in over 34 years has guaranteed to organize the Motor Show with equal opportunities and visibility for each car company, and live up to the role of “independent guarantor” and promoter of the auto industry.
Taking the delicate market situation into consideration from the outset – before the approval of last February’s incentives – we set preparations in motion ready for the date with the Motor Show and its great visitors, having to react strongly and decisively several times over to the difficulties caused by the crisis.
During the whole of 2009, from January to today, Promotor International has worked intensely, together with BolognaFiere, with the aim of accommodating the needs of Italian and international car makers, in order to produce the favourable and sustainable economic conditions necessary for their participation in the 2009 Motor Show.
In the first phase, commercial based solutions were worked out and proposed, which in substance calculated reduced fees of up to 50% for the hire of exhibition areas. However, these conditions were met with little enthusiasm by almost the entire auto brand sector.
By this time we had more or less arrived at April. Promotor International had a new strategy: the commitment and strain of investment lavished, together with GL events, brought about the creation of a different exhibition format allowing car makers the chance to have extra visibility, on exceptional economic terms.
Respecting their requests, these terms provided:
- optimized exhibition layout – with the heart of the exhibition dedicated solely to the auto product;
- limited exhibition space, with contained areas so as to limit staging costs for car makers;
- the possibility of fitting out areas with their own sets, respecting the brand identity of each firm;
- commitment by Promotor International and GL events to continue with consistent investment to uphold promotion and marketing and a programme of competitions and sports exhibitions at the highest level.
Thanks to the partnership with BolognaCongressi Convention&Travel, a support strategy was also developed for hotel accommodation, providing each Motor Show exhibitor with the opportunity to make use of reduced hotel rates in many of the city’s establishments.
These recommendations were agreed during the summer months both collectively and in meetings with our staff and each individual car maker, BolognaFiere and the organizations involved.
The response was initially favourable from many brands who reconsidered their first decision not to take part in the 2009 edition: among these was also Fiat group, who had a meeting with us on July 27, in which it revised the terms of the whole proposal, reserving the right to give a definitive answer in September. On September 22, after the Frankfurt show commitment, the Fiat group informed us of their final decision not to be present at the exhibition.
We immediately informed UNRAE - the association of foreign car makers in Italy, covering 67% of the market – of Fiat’s decision on September 23, requesting that by September 30 we receive the availability of foreign firms. On the specified date, UNRAE notified us that we could not take a unitary and unified position on Motor Show participation. The following day we began individually checking the intentions of the various brands to take part, and only on Friday October 2 did we receive the unavailability of the majority of these.
This prompted a new reaction from Promotor International: after a week end at work, the decision, endorsed by GL events, was made yesterday, October 5 to confirm the 2009 edition of the Motor Show - with a true return to its origins, but with consistent and substantial investment in the marketing and organization of high profile competitions and exhibitions.
Consider that the manufacturers’ decision slots into a difficult economic context and that the meagre budgets available, together with Fiat’s retraction have in fact conditioned foreign car manufacturers who have almost entirely opted to give up on exhibiting as though by order of the European parent companies. In this way we will discover if Italy itself could become the only continental producing country without an auto show.
To maintain the Motor Show in Italy, a country unique in its natural vocation for cars, is a challenge that GL events intends to win. Once again our group can resolutely confirm our commitment to Italy, as demonstrated only a few days ago with the agreement by BolognaFiere to raise capital.
Furthermore, I would like to remind you, as reported even today by the national daily newspapers, of the extraordinary value that the Motor Show means for the city in terms of business – studies estimate it in the order 100 million Euros – and marketing for the city which, thanks to this event, is ‘discovered’ every year by around a thousand people. The same people who then remain taken with Bologna and choose to come back for reasons of culture, shopping or tourism.
Now that from the point of view of the Bologna event, we have gone back thirty years, the “Extra Edition” of the 2009 Motor Show will mark an all-out return to its origins, to 1976, when Bologna – even though it had no car makers – was a byword for competitions, exhibitions, entertainment, drivers, celebrities and moments of passion, all in the name of cars. I want to remind you of some of the first editions with “Silver bird”, “Big Spender” and the super go-kart. The 1977 Motor Show, on the other hand, saw speedway and drag racing, acrobatic motorcycling, rally and kart racing trials, but also a mechanics competition which was the forerunner of the more recent Ferrari pit stop. Many well-known names took part in those first editions – even Enzo Ferrari in his historic visit in 1981, which hallowed the association between Ferrari and the Motor Show.
The 2009 Motor Show model is really following those of the early years: five days of pure spectacle – making full use of the extended holiday weekend in Italy between December 4 and 8 – with the public as the absolute main focus, and the desire for more fun with two and four wheels.
The five-day event will offer the best in the competitions and exhibitions which have made Bologna Motor Show history – starting from Ferrari Day: Saturday December 5, will indeed be an “all red” day, with Formula One Ferrari and activities connected with the racing division from the home of Ferrari in Maranello.
On Friday 4, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6, we will have the best auto racing on the track, motorcycle races, historic Formula One, Freestyle Motocross displays, drifting and stuntmen shows. The grand final will be condensed into Monday 7 and Tuesday 8, and as always will be dedicated to the rally programme with the Memorial Bettega in which we have included the top teams engaged in the international rally (including Ford, Citroën and Subaru), with the best drivers.
New features for visitors on the entrance ticket front as well which – we have found out from the newspapers – is fixed at 12 Euros.
In addition, working closely with the local tourist board, we have created a system of packages where a trip to the delights of the Emilio-Romagna Motor Valley will run side-by-side a visit to the Motor Show. This is a synergy that allows us to transform the Motor Show into a great theme park linked by a network of over 40 firms, a dozen private and public museums, 5 racing circuits and 20 private Italian collections.
Speaking of the Motor Valley, we hope we can reveal more surprises to you soon on the occasion of the 2009 Motor Show…
Finally, I would like to thank BolognaFiere for their extraordinary support in producing this edition of the Motor Show. My thanks also go to Governor Errani, Councillor Campagnoli and the entire Emilia-Romagna region. Also to City of Bologna and in particular Mayor Delbono”.
A statement follows from Federico Minoli, Managing Director of BolognaFiere who took part in the meeting with the press:
“Returning to the roots of the Motor Show means a return to pure passion for the world of engines – one that is not just about business. GL events is preparing for a huge undertaking in this December’s edition, a brave and risky undertaking, yet one that will have a great impact on the trade fair district and the city. However they can not do it alone - they deserve support from us all. Today’s news is that we’re doing the Motor Show, we’re doing it in Bologna, and we have a formula that has always been a success. The show will be huge – come and enjoy.”
Promotor International belongs to the French group GL events, a stock exchange-listed company operating in 13 countries, one of the foremost international leaders in event organizing, managing exhibition spaces and facilities, and service provision. GL events organizes over 2,100 events globally each year, for a total of more than 30,000 exhibitors and more than 4 million visitors and workers in the various industries. The company owns or manages 29 exhibition venues in different continents, from France to the UK, from Hungary to Belgium, from Spain to Brazil, from the USA to China.
The transalpine group relies on more than 3,000 personnel stationed in more than 80 offices in 13 different countries, including Italy, where GL events – through its holding company GL events Italia – owns the Lingotto Fiere exhibition centre in Turin; Promotor International, the Bologna-based company active in organizing trade fair events in the auto sector; and stakes in the trade fair districts of Bologna and Rimini. GL events also operates in the Veneto region of Italy with 80% of the management company of the trade fair district of Padua, the remaining 20% of which belongs to public-sector partners.