History

The first Automechanika Johannesburg trade fair, held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, from March 18 - 21 in 2009 exceeded all expectations. More than 400 companies put on indoor and outdoor displays that coverzed a gross display area of 18,500m², making it the biggest inaugural Automechanika aftermarket trade fair since the brand went global 13 years ago.

The original plans - made long before the global economic downturn - had called for 250 exhibitors. This target was far exceeded by the 412 companies that took part in Automechanika South Africa 2009.

The second Automechanika Johannesburg was held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, from 9-11 March 2011. The event attracted 547 exhibitor companies an increase from the inaugural event's 412 exhibitor companies. Visitor attendance grew from 8,200 to 9,545 visitors from 60 countries.

Messe Frankfurt's licensee and organising partner in the staging of Automechanika Johannesburg is Dogan Trading (Pty) Ltd., a joint venture company owned by the Johannesburg Expo Centre and exhibition organisers, South African Show Services.

International History
1971 and how it all began ...
The idea of the fair came in a “time of need”. In 1971, the International Motor Show IAA in Frankfurt was cancelled in view of the international automobile crisis and replaced by the 1st “Automechanika '71, International Exhibition for Automobile, Workshop, Filling Station and Garage Equipment”.

This gave the automobile, equipment, accessories and other companies normally represented at the IAA the chance to make presentations and give specialists from the sector an overview of the market.

From the original stopgap solution to an independent event In view of the success and the on-going interest shown by exhibitors and visitors in "Automechanika '71", Messe Frankfurt decided to organise this event in the future, too.

Initially, it was decided to hold the fair again in the subsequent year (1972), to achieve an alternating event cycle with the IAA. With 100 exhibitors more and around 50 % more exhibition space, the second Automechanika was a great success with trade visitors for five days.

Growth
Since this time, Automechanika has grown continuously with more exhibitors and visitors than before coming to each subsequent event. For the first time, the number of exhibitors exceeded the 1,000 mark in 1978 and occupied more than 100,000 square metres of gross exhibition space in 1980.

Today, Automechanika is the world’s biggest trade fair for the automotive aftermarket and the international platform and meeting place for top exhibitors and decision makers from the sector.

Automechanika – an export hit
In addition to the parent fair in Frankfurt, Automechanika is currently held at over a dozen venues throughout the world and the one-off event has become a potent international trade fair brand.

The Automechanika trade fair brand has a worldwide presence. With a network of 12 international events, we offer exhibitors access to new markets and bring them into contact with new national and regional visitor groups.

Added value - with each international Automechanika show the profile of the trade fair brand is increased.