Ethiopia’s Car Show Takes Some Turns

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - As Milan and New York are famous for their annual fashion events, Detroit and Geneva are known for hosting internationally renowned motorcar shows every year. Cairo topped the African continent by organizing annual auto shows for the 17th time this year, while Addis Abeba is trying to catch the tail of such world-class cities with its own car show since 2003.

A private local company named after a group of stars, ED-Stellar has brought together newly manufactured international car brands for the last eight years. Dubbed the International Automotive Fair (IAF), the event has became a hub for auto companies and importers and distributors of tyres, spare parts, and petroleum products.

This year’s annual auto show, claimed to have cost the organiser close to a million Birr, opened on Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at its usual venue, the Addis Abeba Exhibition Centre & Market Development Enterprise.

It has had similar arrangements in previous years, except that the focus has been on locally assembled cars.

Though the event borrowed its 2011 motto, “Scan globally, renovate locally,” it witnessed a low number of participants, visitors, and an absence of major players of the automotive sector compared to last year. The number of exhibitors was reduced almost by half, from 78 local and international companies to 42 of this year.

The exhibition is expected to be visited by 50,000 people during its five day programme, which is less than the 90,000 visitors registered two years ago. Read full story on Addis Fortune.