SEMA's Sixth International Auto Salon Draws Record Buyer Attendance

DIAMOND BAR, Calif., May 2 -- Buyer attendance set a record at SEMA's sixth International Auto Salon (IAS), held last weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The 1,423 industry trade buyers who attended the three-day event were able to visit exhibits by 121 companies, including nine carmakers with marketing programs that target the fast-growing compact performance market.

The previous record buyer attendance at IAS was 1,043, Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president of marketing and communications, said.

TYC/Genera Corp., a second-time exhibitor at the International Auto Salon, was very enthusiastic about the show. Jackson Kwok, senior director of business development for the company, said the 2003 show "was an excellent venue to showcase our performance lighting products and to build our brand awareness. Our booth was swamped the entire show, as people gravitated to our display heavily doused with our The Fast and The Furious theme. We were bombarded by buyers from various business segments and channels, and happily overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of consumers. We'll be back next year."

Greg Neuwirth, president of AEM, a company that has exhibited at IAS every year since the first Salon in 1998, said, "In addition to being an excellent forum to network with existing and potential customers, the 2003 IAS was a great place to promote our performance products to the consumer. Throughout the weekend our booth had a constant flow of enthusiasts eager to learn more about even our most technical products. Our EMS (Engine Management System) engineers were busy giving demonstrations from show start to finish. Our company is always in the pursuit of excellence, and found that at the IAS!"

MacGillivray said that 120 new products were display in the show's special new products showcases. "Our new products showcase display helps buyers find out what is new and hot at the show quickly," he said. "Then the buyers can go to the company exhibits where the products in which they have the most interest are on display."

More than 500 cars were on the show floor at the International Auto Salon. They included not only the sport compact sedans around which the show was founded in 1998, but also a wider variety of vehicles -- all accessorized and customized with colorful paint schemes, exterior modifications, and mobile electronic systems.

Seven cars which were featured the upcoming 2Fast2Furious movie were parked at IAS, as were vehicles owned by celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal, Lamont Sprewell and 50 Cent.

During the press conference that opened the show, SEMA Vice President of Market Research Jim Spoonhower reported that the industry segment had grown an astounding 55.9 percent in 2002, to a retail sales level of $2.367 billion.

For SEMA's 2003 look at the compact performance market segment, go to www.sema.org/scpmarketstudy2003 .

For the complete media kit for IAS 2003, go to www.sema.org/ias2003mediakit .

SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, represents the $27 billion specialty automotive industry. Founded in 1963, the trade association has more than 4,500 member companies. It is the authoritative source of research data, trends and market growth information for automakers and the specialty auto products industry. The industry provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products for passenger cars, minivans, trucks, SUVs and recreational vehicles. For more information, contact SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA, 91765-3914; call 909/396-0289; or visit www.sema.org or www.enjoythedrive.com .