Virtually all visitors to the Johannesburg Motor Show, staged at Expo Centre in October, agreed that it was a world class event according to the results of research issued recently by the show organisers, SA Show Services.
The exact breakdown was 100% of the public day visitors and 98,4% of VIP guests.
The show also fared well in terms of value for money, with 98,3% of the public day visitors and 100% of the VIPs agreeing with this statement.
“We are impressed and delighted at this response,” commented Nico Vermeulen the director of the National Automobile Association of SA (NAAMSA), which is a co-owner of the event with Expo Centre.
“Not only were all aspects of the show of a very high standard, but the composition of the 228 102 people who came to Expo Centre over the 11-day show period was close to our ideal target market in terms of demographics. We are also satisfied with the number of visitors, particularly as many other major events took place over the show period, not least of which was the World Cup rugby.
“What is important,” added Vermeulen,” is that 31% of the public day visitors were considering the purchase of a new vehicles, with 11% coming to the show with the express purpose of reviewing the vehicles on display with a view to buying one in the near future.
“Another accolade that has come the way of the Johannesburg Motor Show is the award from the Exhibition and Event Association of SA (EXSA) as the Best Exhibition of the Year to be staged in SA in 2011.
The research showed that people living in Pretoria and Centurion are the biggest exhibition-goers, making up 23,6% of the sample surveyed at the Johannesburg Motor Show. This region was followed by visitors from the East and West Rand, with 13,9% each.
Almost half the visitors – 44% – said the show was better than they had expected and more than 50% said the information gained at the show would influence their purchase decision when buying a new vehicle in the future.
Virtually all vehicle manufacturers and distributors in South Africa elected to participate in the show and their decision was fully justified in that all the people interviewed in the survey said just the fact that the companies had vehicles on display enhanced their brand image in the mind of the visitors.
Visitors rated the quality of the display stands at more than 90%, while 80% said they were impressed with the Standard Bank off-road track and the opportunity it offered to experience the various vehicles in simulated off-road conditions.
The BMW and MINI products proved the most popular with visitors on the public days. They were the highlight of the show for 27,5% of the visitors. Two other German brands, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, were next most popular on 23,1% each. They were followed by Toyota/Lexus (13,9%), Exotics (13,7%), Ford and Volkswagen (12,9%).
These rankings were in contrast to the list drawn up from surveying invited VIP guests. They rated the “total show” and “all new cars” as the biggest highlights with 17,5% support from this group for these aspects of the show. Next up were BMW on 11,2%, Concept Cars and Technology on 9,5% and Mercedes-Benz on 7,9%.
“We, as the venue owners, are also pleased that there were positive comments from visitors and exhibitors with regard to the revamped Expo Centre, which benefitted from a R40-million upgrading and improvement programme in 2010 when it served as the International Communication Centre for the Football World Cup,” added the CEO of Expo Centre, Craig Newman.
