First international auto show opens in Warsaw

Warsaw's first large international motor show opened last week, offering auto fans a chance to see next year's models while giving the exhibition's organizers an opportunity to gauge the potential for future car shows in the capital.

But while the event is just one-tenth the size of the country's biggest auto exhibition, the annual Poznań Motor Show, the Warsaw International Motor Show (WIMS), held in the six-month-old EXPO XXI center, is proof that the exhibition's organizers are serious about creating a car show fit for a capital city.

Grzegorz Słyszyk, president of the CEE Warsaw International Fair (CEE MTW), which organizes events for EXPO XXI, said WIMS could become the premier auto show in Warsaw, which until now has hosted only smaller exhibitions.

CEE MTW is owned by Expomedia Group, a U.K.-based exhibition organizer that built the EXPO XXI center. Although the $20 million development has 9,700 square meters of space, it is the biggest and only modern exhibition center in Warsaw. Last week more than 60 automakers displayed their models there, although Daewoo, Opel, Skoda and Renault did not participate.

CEE MTW plans to develop the motor show into its biggest annual exhibition. "We want to make the motorshow our flagship event," Słyszyk said. Still, CEE MTW has no illusions about competing with the Poznań Motor Show.

"We have 10,000 square meters, they have 100,000," said Jan Pacewicz, chairman of WIEC's supervisory board. "It's a different size and a different category, we're not aiming to compete with Poznań."

One of those attending the Warsaw show was 27-year-old Krzysztof, who said the Poznań fair in May had much more to offer.

"There were many more firms exhibiting, in particular businesses offering car accessories," he said. "The scale is much bigger in Poznań."

Słyszyk confirmed that CEE MTW is targeting the Warsaw market only and not Poland. "We don't intend to compete with Poznań and take over its customers," he said.

But Jose Ramon Sorieno, commercial director of Fiat Auto Poland, WIMS' biggest exhibitor, predicted a promising future for the Warsaw show. "In Spain, there are two major auto fairs - in Madrid and Barcelona," he said. "I think it will be the same in Poland in the future." He said WIMS will grow in importance, which is why Fiat wants to have a strong presence here. "This is a good start for Warsaw," he said.

Słyszyk cites two reasons for his belief in WIMS' future. "Expomedia has operations across Europe, through which it has a concentrated system for reservations and marketing," he said. "This will bring us exhibitors. Our other strength is the immense demand of the Warsaw market."