Hard Times For Indusrty Means Greater Focus On Specialist Car Shows, Says Salon Prive

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – March 2009: In the wake of the news that several global car shows have reduced in size or been cancelled completely, many industry commentators are predicting a rise in the role that specialist or ‘boutique’ shows will provide to the industry in future years.

Salon Privé, the international specialist car show specifically tailored to high-end and prestige automotive brands, is enjoying unprecedented demand from manufacturers keen to put their products in front of a serious potential client base.

“In this new age of reduced spending, there just isn’t the scope for manufacturers to gamble on their marketing investments”, says David Bagley, founder of Salon Privé. “It’s clearly a case of horses for courses and our clients need a clear guarantee that their expenditure will deliver serious customers. The industry has passed the point where participation in shows is a question of vanity, and the acid test is the quantity of qualified leads a company leaves with.”

The event is this year securing exhibitors from a broad range of international manufacturers keen to keep their profile high with target customers. It is also expected that the event will feature a number of UK public debuts for some very special sports cars.

Bagley added: “We can guarantee a bigger event than last year and there aren’t too many automotive shows that can say that in 2009. Salon Privé has now established itself as the leading event of its kind in Europe and with guest attendance for 2009 already surpassing 75% of last year’s figure, we are extremely confident of delivering a first-class event for our guests and exhibitors alike”