DIAMOND BAR, Calif., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- 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
http://www.sema.org/scpmarketstudy2003 .
For the complete media kit for IAS 2003, go to
http://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 http://www.sema.org or http://www.enjoythedrive.com .
SOURCE SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association)
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Related links:
http://www.sema.org
CONTACT:
Rosemarie Kitchin, ext. 104,
rosemariek@sema.org, or Lisa Guth, ext. 181, lisag@sema.org, both
of SEMA, +1-909-396-0289
NOTE TO EDITORS: Download an IAS 2003 image from
http://www.sema.org/images/31596.jpg CAPTION: A record number of buyers
attended SEMA's International Auto Salon 2003, which featured 120
new products and more than 500 accessorized and customized
vehicles.
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