Automobile Barcelona is warming up its engines to once again fill the pavilions and avenues of Fira de Barcelona's Montjuïc venue with cars and new features. In its 43rd edition, the international show will serve as a showcase for 29 automotive brands, with the aim of boosting sector sales and another fundamental objective: contributing to promoting electric mobility. The show aims to attract more than 350,000 visitors to the 100,000 square meters it will occupy in the exhibition center, 15% more surface area than the previous edition, in 2023.
The event, which will be held from May 9 to 18 with the slogan Passion for engines, passion for Barcelona, will include the presentation of a dozen premieres, with one world premiere and one European premiere: the Ebro S400 and the MG S5. Models from Ford, Hyundai, Renault, KGM, BYD, Mobilize, Omoda, and Leapmotor complete the national novelties that will be presented at the event.
The biennial event, which has the backing of the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (Anfac), has consolidated itself as one of the three main shows in the sector at a European level, through its 106 years of history in the Catalan capital, as highlighted by the president of Automobile Barcelona, Enrique Lacalle. In fact, as recalled by Fira Executive Committee member Ricard Zapatero, the show was already there before Fira de Barcelona was created.
More than a third of the automotive brands participating in the show will be Chinese manufacturersSpecifically, the show will bring to the public the proposals of the automotive brands Alpine, Baltasar, BYD, Cupra, DR, Ebro, E-Miles, EVO, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Jaecoo, Ka-te, KGM, Leapmotor, Lynk&Co, MG, Mobilize, Nissan, Omoda, Renault, Seat, Silence, Sportequipe, Suzuki, Tesla, Tiger, Volvo, and Xpeng, whichwill exhibit vehicles with different powertrains and a clear commitment to electrification.
"He who does not come, makes a mistake", Lacalle has asserted about the brands that will not be present in this edition of the event. "We are the most visited show in Spain and Europe, in no other in the sector do 300,000 people arrive," claimed the president of the event, who has committed to continuing to work to attract the brands that have not done so in this edition.
A third of Chinese brands
As a reflection of the sector, Automobile is seeing an increased presence of Asian brands, especially Chinese ones. In fact, a third of the car manufacturers that will exhibit their proposals and vehicles at this year's show come from the Asian giant, double that of the previous edition.
To boost and incentivize sales, Automobile stands as a show not only for exhibiting new products from brands, but also for testing and experience. "The show is the place for decision", Lacalle emphasized, regretting that the Spanish car fleet is one of the oldest in Europe, with an average age of more than 14 years.
Along these lines, the show aims to advance electric mobility, as brands have made a firm commitment to electrification, but sales have not advanced at the same pace. "We have an industrial and technological opportunity with the electric vehicle; we cannot miss it, and here the buyer is key," added the general director of Anfac, José López-Tafall.
"The show helps us close that circle: getting citizens to be able to learn about, ask about, and test vehicles, and with that, it helps them decide," added López-Tafall, who defended that Catalonia in particular and Spain in general could not have an automotive sector like the one it has and, instead, not have a show like Automobile: "It is a mutual strength," he emphasized.
The customer, at the wheel
To see the vehicles up close, Automobile will occupy pavilions 1 and 8 of the Montjuic venue, as well as the central space, the Plaza de l'Univers, which will be completely occupied by Seat, coinciding with its 75th anniversary.
The fair will go beyond the pavilions and reach Avenida Maria Cristina and Rius i Taulet. It will be here where the boxes will be located where visitors can drive the vehicles of the brands participating in this edition, and they can test them on the track of the emblematic Montjuïc circuit.
In this edition, the show will not only go to Montjuic to drive, but will take advantage of the fact that Barça and Madrid will play the classic on May 11 at the nearby Estadi Olímpic to expand its audience. The show and the blaugrana club have closed an agreement so that those who have a ticket for the match can access the show for free on the same day.
The show will exhibit iconic cars from films such as James Bond and The Italian JobThe collaboration will go beyond attendees: the traditional meal between the directives of both clubs will also be held at the fairgrounds.It is expected that the delegations of both teams will be headed by the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, and by that of Real Madrid CF, Florentino Pérez. In addition to generating synergies with the classic, the salon and the Circuit de Catalunya —whichFira manages since January— will collaborate in a mutual promotion to gain visitors.
From cinema to motorsport
The show will feature cinema, motorsport, and new mobility as protagonists of its activity program. Through the immersive show Movie Machines, it will showcase the automobile as a central element of popular culture, with iconic moments from cinema that have featured the motor as a protagonist, as explained by the show's director, José Miguel García. What's more, some of these emblematic vehicles will step off the screen to sneak into Automobile: cars from Ghostbusters, The Italian Job, James Bond, and The Hangover will be exhibited at the show, as a prelude to the immersive spectacle.
And from the big screen, to the world of sport. In the motorsport space, visitors will be able to transport themselves to competitions through an exhibition with vehicles from disciplines such as Formula E, rallies, raids, touring car races, and GTs. To reproduce that competitive atmosphere, the experience will recreate the pits of various teams, with real activity and maneuvers such as live tire changes.
In a sector marked by its electrification process, the show's activities will also revolve around electromobility. The Energy Zone space will offer visitors the possibility to delve into the electric mobility ecosystem, to learn about both the different charging solutions and the installation possibilities and energy providers.
Professional activities
Automobile focuses on its visitors, but also on sector professionals, for whom the first day is reserved — the show will be open to the general public starting May 10. For professionals, a program has been designed that includes the Anfac-Fecavem Congress, which will be held on May 9 with the slogan Accelerating towards sustainable mobility. The congress will address new urban mobility and sustainability, as well as the development of charging infrastructure and autonomous vehicles.
Also focused on industry professionals, the Society of Automotive Technicians (STA) will offer three thematic sessions on industrial vehicles, autonomous and connected vehicles, and industrial safety in sector infrastructures, which will take place from May 14 to 16. In the same vein, the Spanish Association of Fleet Managers will hold its annual associates' meeting on the 13th within the framework of the show, completing a program that will once again turn Barcelona into the motor capital.