The responsibility for the industry's rather messy event scenario lies largely, in my opinion, with the suppliers and one or two of their representative trade bodies.A number of major components suppliers had booked space at AutoExCeL, but many more had baulked at making a decision. Many of those companies are UK subsidiaries of international businesses; maintaining a healthy head-to-parapet ratio is the key to a senior guy's employment in such businesses.
Many of the larger, more influential passenger aftermarket equipment suppliers do a high proportion of their business in the CV sector. Most significantly, the lift suppliers can take much higher margin from sales to the CV industry than to the passenger sector.
When the GEA, whose council includes a number of lift suppliers and others with an interest in the CV market, took the view they would support a combined ATS/CV Show to the exclusion of all other shows they effectively killed off any chance of a standalone passenger aftermarket event in the foreseeable future.
There is a number of passionate, committed people in every sector of the aftermarket who would dearly love to see a unified passenger aftermarket event. Many of them - and organisations like the ADF, IMI, NTDA, UKPA, FSG, Thatcham, UAN - gave a great deal of time and energy to that cause during the past two years, but to no avail.
To create that unity we need two things to happen:
1 The equipment suppliers en masse - and, particularly, the GEA - must acknowledge the importance of the passenger aftermarket as a marketplace distinct from the CV sector (any UKAT members REALLY want to go to the CV Show???)
2 The components suppliers en masse need to commit to real commercial support of a major aftermarket event
In the meantime, my view is Mechanex is the best aftermarket event concept remaining. It is hardly the major unifying event we might wish for, but it addresses very specifically the interests of independent garages.