Now the year can come to an end - the Essen Motor Show has completed a successful 56th round and ensured satisfied exhibitors and fans. The car festival lasted ten days and underlined the fact that sporty and individual vehicles inspire the public regardless of the drive system. Around 500 exhibitors ensured the good mood, attracting more than 200,000 visitors to Messe Essen from November 30 to December 8 (Preview Day: November 29) and presenting everything the heart desires: sporty production vehicles, lovingly refined tuning creations, brute racing cars, elegant classics as well as accessories and lifestyle products.
“The Essen Motor Show has shown how much the companies and the public celebrate and appreciate this platform. The response was truly outstanding - and that in politically and economically challenging times. Contrary to the current industry trend, the exhibitors were very satisfied with their business,” summarized Oliver P. Kuhrt, Managing Director of Messe Essen. With BYD, Continental, Hankook, Nio, Shelby and Skoda, several car and tire manufacturers were on site, fascinating fans with their new products. In addition, three well-known brands - Dickie Spielzeug, eBay Motors and LEGO - made their debut at the Essen Motor Show.
New exhibitors inspire their fans and reach new target groups
The conclusion of the new additions is excellent: “The Essen Motor Show was a complete success for us and our absolute highlight of the year! With our high-horsepower model vehicles, we were not only able to inspire sports car fans, but also specifically address new target groups and further sharpen our profile in the car and tuning scene. We are particularly proud of the Majorette trade fair model, the Toyota GR Supra - a highlight that met with enormous enthusiasm from visitors. Jada's versatile Fast & Furious range was also extremely well received, with the original Fast & Furious movie car - Jesse's VW Jetta - proving to be a real crowd puller. After such a successful trade fair, we are looking forward to the future with excitement,” explains Christina Wimmelbacher, Senior Marketing Manager at Dickie Spielzeug. At LEGO, the outcome was also positive: “The Essen Motor Show was a great opportunity for the LEGO brand to share our common fascination for cars with the public and to be playfully creative together,” says Theresa Silbereisen, Senior Director Marketing at LEGO GmbH.
It goes without saying that the geopolitical situation and the failure of Germany‘s coalition government are also having an impact on sales in the tuning industry. However, the mood in the halls was all the more surprising: According to a preliminary evaluation, around 90 percent of exhibitors were very satisfied or satisfied with their business success at the Essen Motor Show - a slight increase compared to last year. Accordingly, 93 percent of the participating companies already know that they want to be present in Essen again next year.
A must-attend event for the tuning industry
For the tuning industry, the Essen Motor Show is therefore a must-attend event regardless of current political and economic developments - as this year's event also proved. A number of manufacturers and tuners presented their much-anticipated products and innovations: from spectacular project vehicles to chassis, wheels and tires to high-quality merchandise. Right in the middle of it all was the TUNE IT! SAFE! initiative, which unveiled its new campaign car on Preview Day: a freshly tuned BMW M2 by AC Schnitzer in police livery, which promptly became one of the most sought-after photo motifs at the festival.
“The number of visitors and the atmosphere at EMS 2024 once again proved that interest in automobiles in general and in vehicle customization options in particular is unbroken. My thanks go to everyone who was there and to the project team for a perfectly organized trade fair,” says Harald Schmidtke, Managing Director of the Association of Automotive Tuners (VDAT), summing up the past ten days of the trade fair. In addition to the companies from the VDAT, well-known tuners from the scene such as JP Performance and Sidney Industries once again presented themselves at the Essen Motor Show, with long queues forming at some of their stands when the founders were on site.
ADAC provides spectacular motorsport highlight
As usual, motorsport was also represented in several halls in Essen. In addition to the appearances of the Hockenheimring and Nürburgring, the ADAC provided an exclamation mark: The new Ford Mustang GT3, which will compete in the DTM 2025, awaited visitors at the stand in Hall 3 alongside other racing cars. Fans of classic cars got their money's worth in the Classic & Prestige Salon of the organizer S.I.H.A. in Halls 1 and 2, where historic rally cars and a Japan Mile, among other things, provided nostalgia and wide eyes.
Dr. Karl-Friedrich Ziegahn, President of the Deutscher Sportfahrer Kreis, emphasizes: “The Essen Motor Show network is alive and well. Once again this year, our stand in Hall 3 was an important contact point for our members to exchange ideas. With our talks by the DSK Women's Club and the Auto-Poser service group of the Hamburg police, we reached many visitors and sensitized them to important topics relating to mobility. On the other hand, we from the Presidium once again took the opportunity to make important contacts and further expand our network. Sporty driving needs perspectives for the future - and in many respects sustainably. And here, the Essen Motor Show is a great melting pot of diverse ideas and approaches for the future.”
The Essen Motor Show 2025 opens on November 28 with the Preview Day
During this year's fair, numerous exhibitors already booked their spaces for the upcoming Essen Motor Show from November 29 to December 7, 2025 (Preview Day: November 28). The registration deadline is June 30, 2025, the registration documents are available at www.essen-motorshow.de.
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