Motor Expo an important event

Press, 16 July 1987, Page 32

Motor Expo an important event

BEHIND the WHEEL with

Peter Greenslade

It’s not, perhaps, so much what is seen, but what is heard, that makes New Zealand’s Motor Expo such an important event on the motoring calendar. Representatives of the motor industry’s local assembly plants and car importers seem more forthcoming than they do at other times of the year as they proudly strut their stands resplendent with gleaming cars. Also, almost inevitably, there are newsworthy people among the show patrons. The fifth Motor Expo began last week with a media day on the Tuesday, the day prior to the public opening, and there was excitement on the stands for every car-lover.

But, on media day, motoring writers soon learned that the exhibitors were becoming concerned about the annual show. It seemed that most were beginning to feel that the affair was becoming too costly and, while recognising its worth as a golden opportunity to show their wares to the public, they seemed to

think that Motor Expo should be held every other year. This was a view rather forcibly expressed by Mitsubishi Motors’ managing director, Denford McDonald, at a press conference at the Porirua headquarters a few weeks ago. He claimed that a country with a population of three million could not justify a motor show such as Motor Expo every year and the motor industry really could not support it on the basis of annual sales. As a matter of fact, it cost most commercial exhibitors anything between $lOO,OOO and $250,000 to show their wares this year. Following Mr McDonald’s comments a few weeks earlier, it was not surprising to find no Mitsubishis at Expo. Last year the marque, then represented by Todd Motors, Ltd, had one of the larger and more spectacular Motor Expo exhibits. On the basis of the size

and quality of the 1986 exhibit and the number of cars sold last year by Todd, it has been estimated (admittedly, by rule of thumb methods) that Todd involvement in Motor Expo probably added $3O, at most, to the retail price of each car sold by the company. This year, Motor Expo was 50 per cent larger than in 1986 and there were more than 300 cars,

as well as scores of motor-cycles and a most comprehensive range of motoring accessories, on display. The show was up to world standards and Trade and Industrial Exhibitions, Ltd, should be congratulated for staging such a magnificent motoring event. The organisers and exhibitors met before the show concluded last Sunday to discuss its future and, no doubt, the outcome of that discussion will soon become public knowledge. If a decision is reached to hold it every other year in future, there will be a lot of disappointed regular show-goers, while motoring reporters will miss out on their regular fill of motor show gossip.

However, Orly Motors, Ltd, the relatively new Peugeot national distributor, could be excused if it voted for Motor Expo to continue on an annual basis.

It was Orly’s first Motor Expo occasion and during the media day morning, it

received two firm orders for examples of its Peugeot 309 GTi, a car that had just reached New Zealand and had not been advertised to any extent That was testimony enough to the selling power of Motor Expo. Paradoxically, cars exhibited on the BMW and Jaguar stands, just a few paces from the Peugeot and its GTi, had all been spoken for before they made their debut.

BMW’s magnificent Vl2 350 i, the 7 Series flagship, was the focal point of the Munich manufacturer’s exhibit. Although it is unlikely that the first examples of this car will reach New Zealand until some time next year, all the first shipment was ordered long before the left-hand-drive Expo car reached New Zealand.

Moreover, BMW has yet to fix a New Zealand price for the car.

It appears that the buyers can expect little change from $250,000 apiece and also the people who have placed

their orders are, almost without exception, already owners of the new BMW 735 i or 730 i.

Jaguar New Zealand, Ltd, had the most sumptuous Jaguar/Daimler saloon ever to be sold in New Zealand featuring on its stand. This is the new 3.6-litre twin overhead camshaft Daimler, a $150,000 luxury car. It is expected to account for about 10 per cent of Jaguar sales and even before it saw the light of day in this country, all the readily available examples now reaching New Zealand had been sold.

So, as far as those particular cars were concerned, Motor Expo did not really matter very much to the distributors.

But, in the main, Motor Expo is an ideal showcase for New Zealand’s motor trade and as sales are slow and lower than usual this year, it could well be that when it comes to the crunch the motor business may reluctantly decide in favour of continuing Motor Expo annually, at least in the meantime.