Automechanika Dubai celebrates record exhibitor numbers during the 2024 edition
Automechanika Dubai 2024 showcased 2,229 exhibitors, an increase of 15% year-on-year, representing 62 countries, including 21 international pavilions, highlighting the increased demand from the global market
The latest insights on the successful 2024 edition of the leading automotive aftermarket industry event were revealed during the exhibition's gathering of advisory board members
Insights revealed electric vehicles (EVs), the Chinese and European automobile market, the strength of the US dollar, logistics challenges, and education expected to lead the agenda during the 2025 edition of the event
Dubai, UAE: Automechanika Dubai, the largest trade show for the automotive aftermarket industry in the wider Middle East, has officially announced the results from the 2024 edition of the show during the exhibition's first Advisory Board Assembly of the year, where the trends expected to be discussed during the 2025 edition of the show were outlined, when it returns from 9 – 11 December at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
The exhibition welcomed a record 2,229 exhibitors in 2024, an increase of 15% on 2023, representing 62 countries with 21 international pavilions. To facilitate the additional demand, exhibition space also increased by 18%, ensuring the largest Automechanika Dubai to date, with further halls to be added during the 2025 edition, eclipsing previous records once more.
During the three-day showcase, 48,421 visitors from 149 countries were welcomed, where they participated in flagship features, including Automechanika Academy, Innovation4Mobility, the Modern Workshop, AfriConnections, and the Pitstop Challenge, amongst others.
The exhibition also provided a platform for exhibitors from across the automotive aftermarket spectrum to showcase the latest innovations with nine specialised product categories covering everything from parts & components to tyres & batteries, body & paint, and management & digital solutions.
Mahmut Gazi Bilikozen, Portfolio Director, Mobility & Logistics at Messe Frankfurt Middle East, said: "Automechanika Dubai 2024 showcased the innovation and global reach of the automotive aftermarket industry. With over 2,229 exhibitors from 62 countries and 48,421 visitors, the event was a testament to the industry's commitment to excellence and advancement. From the groundbreaking product launches to insightful discussions at the Automechanika Academy, these reflect the sector's adaptability and forward-thinking approach.
'2025 will build on this positive momentum, further driving conversations around digitalisation, sustainability, and emerging technologies. Our goal is to create even more opportunities for knowledge-sharing, business growth, and global collaboration. We are striving to ensure Automechanika Dubai will continue to be the central platform where industry leaders connect, innovate, and shape the future of mobility.'
During the recent Advisory Board Assembly, a panel of industry experts provided the latest insights and knowledge, highlighting the future trends driving the industry forward and shaping Automechanika Dubai in the coming years.
During the assembly, discussions focused on the trends within the industry, including electric vehicles and the resulting need for specialised services, new skills, and partnerships to service the evolving sector. The rapidly expanding Chinese automaker market was also discussed, as was the strength of the dollar, which is unlikely to impact the GCC market in the short term, but is reducing the buying power from Africa.
Logistics challenges, supply chain disruptions on delivery, and education and skills developments as the automotive industry shifts towards digitalisation and sustainability were also highlighted.
This year will see the three new show highlights added to the exhibition mix, including Commercial Vehicles, which will be dedicated to mining, construction, and agricultural industries, a Road Safety Day will also be introduced, underscoring this key pillar within the exhibition, as well as the Region Focus: Made in GCC feature, which will focus on the GCC's burgeoning automotive manufacturing industry.
Automechanika 2025 will also see the return of other popular features, including the knowledge-sharing platform, Automechanika Academy, the Automechanika Awards, Africonnections, Modern Workshop, which will have a series of technical seminars, training and live product demonstrations, the popular Pitstop Challenge, Innovation4Mobility and the Lubricants, Base Oil and Additives Conference. Education will remain crucial in the offering, with many features focused on widening participants' knowledge.
'Navigating the future of the automotive aftermarket industry requires proactive alignment and strong collaboration with industry leaders, innovators, and changemakers which underscores the importance of our Advisory Board members. By working together, we identify and keep pace with emerging trends such as digitalisation, sustainability, and EV adoption, enabling us to respond effectively to the evolving landscapewhile also setting new standards for excellence and inclusivity across the industry. This collective effort is essential to advancing the industry and ensuring it remains resilient, competitive, and future-ready,' concluded Bilikozen.
The Automechanika Dubai Advisory Board includes:
Automechanika Dubai returns to the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 9 to 11 December 2025.
ENDS
About Automechanika Dubai
Automechanika Dubai is the largest international automotive aftermarket trade exhibition in the wider Middle East taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre between 9-11 December 2025. Automechanika Dubai acts as the central trading link for markets that are difficult to reach connecting the Middle East, Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Asia and key CIS countries.
For more information, please visit our website.
About Messe Frankfurt
The Messe Frankfurt Group is the world's largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With a workforce of some 2,500* people at its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and in 28 subsidiaries, it organises events around the world. Group sales in financial year 2024 were around € 780* million. We serve our customers' business interests efficiently within the framework of our Fairs & Events, Locations and Services business fields. One of Messe Frankfurt's key strengths is its powerful and closely knit global sales network, which covers around 180 countries in all regions of the world. Our comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. We are using our digital expertise to develop new business models. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services.
Sustainability is a central pillar of our corporate strategy. Here, we strike a healthy balance between ecological and economic interests, social responsibility and diversity.
For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com/sustainability
With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
*Preliminary figures 2024
James Lakie
james.lakie@shamalcomms.com
Kate McGinley
kate.mcginley@uae.messefrankfurt.com
www.messefrankfurtme.com
www.automechanikadubai.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
US announces pick for NATO's next Supreme Allied Commander
President Donald Trump's administration announced on Thursday its nomination for the next top US general in Europe and said the US military officer would also assume the traditional role of Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Trump's decision to nominate US Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich to both roles, which was first reported by Reuters, will relieve European NATO allies and even some of Trump's fellow Republicans amid concerns about a retrenchment in American military leadership of NATO. Grynkewich must be confirmed by the US Senate. The position of SACEUR, which oversees all NATO operations in Europe, has been filled by a US general since its creation after World War Two. US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the alliance's first SACEUR in 1951. Still, since taking office in January, Trump's administration has pressured NATO allies to ramp up their defense spending, saying Europe should be primarily responsible for defense on the European continent. Trump has also said he wants NATO allies to boost investment in defence to 5 per cent of gross domestic product, up from the current target of 2 per cent. Speaking at NATO headquarters earlier on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was confident that members of the NATO alliance would agree to a major boost in defense spending. No country is yet at 5 per cent, not even the US, but Hegseth said there was progress on agreeing to the target. "I'm very encouraged by what we heard in there," Hegseth said after a morning meeting of NATO defense ministers on Thursday in Brussels. "Countries in there are well exceeding 2 per cent and we think very close, almost near consensus, on a 5 per cent commitment to NATO." Grynkewich, who is now the director for operations at the US military's Joint Staff, would succeed Army General Christopher Cavoli, who has been in the role since shortly after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, helping oversee billions of dollars in U.S. security assistance to Kyiv.
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Trump and Xi agree to further talks to settle trade disputes
US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to further talks between the countries to hash out differences on tariffs that have roiled the global economy, according to US and Chinese summaries of their phone call on Thursday. "There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products," Trump wrote on social media. "Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined." Trump and a Chinese government summary of the meeting said the leaders had invited each other to their respective countries at a future date. "The US side should take a realistic view of the progress made and withdraw the negative measures imposed on China," the Chinese government said in a statement published by the state-run Xinhua news agency. "Xi Jinping welcomed Trump's visit to China again, and Trump expressed his sincere gratitude." The highly anticipated call came amid accusations between Washington and Beijing in recent weeks over "rare earths" minerals in a dispute that has threatened to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the two biggest economies. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration. Though stocks rallied, the temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has made it difficult to forecast market conditions. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets continues to disrupt supplies needed by automakers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world. Beijing sees mineral exports as a source of leverage - halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican US president if economic growth sags because companies cannot produce mineral-powered products. The 90-day deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions is tenuous. Trump has accused China of violating the agreement and has ordered curbs on chip design software and other shipments to China, while also doubling steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent. Beijing rejected the claim and threatened counter-measures. In recent years, the United States has identified China as its top geopolitical rival and the only country in the world able to challenge the US economically and militarily. Despite this and repeated trade threats and tariff announcements, Trump has spoken admiringly of Xi, including of the Chinese leader's toughness and ability to stay in power without the term limits imposed on US presidents. Trump has long pushed for a call or a meeting with Xi, but China has rejected that as not in keeping with its traditional approach of working out agreement details before the leaders talk. The US president and his aides see leader-to-leader talks as vital to sort through log-jams that have vexed lower-level officials in difficult negotiations. Thursday's call came at Trump's request, China said. It's not clear when the two men last spoke. Both sides said they spoke on January 17, days before Trump's inauguration and Trump has repeatedly said that he had spoken to Xi since taking office on January 20. He has declined to say when any call took place or to give details of their conversation. China had said that the two leaders had not had any recent phone calls. The talks are being closely watched by investors worried that a chaotic trade war could cut into corporate earnings and disrupt supply chains in the key months before the Christmas holiday shopping season. Trump's tariffs are also the subject of ongoing litigation in US courts. Trump has met Xi on several occasions, including exchange visits in 2017, but they have not met face to face since 2019 talks in Osaka, Japan. Xi last traveled to the US in November 2023, for a summit with then-President Joe Biden, resulting in agreements to resume military-to-military communications and curb fentanyl production.
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
US trade deficit narrows sharply in April, imports post record drop
The US trade deficit narrowed sharply in April, with imports decreasing by the most on record as the front-running of goods ahead of tariffs ebbed, which could provide a lift to economic growth this quarter. The trade gap contracted by a record 55.5 per cent to $61.6 billion, the lowest level since September 2023, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday. Data for March was revised to show the trade deficit having widened to an all-time high of $138.3 billion rather than the previously reported $140.5 billion. Economists polled by Reuters forecast the deficit narrowing to $70.0 billion. The goods trade deficit eased by a record 46.2 per cent to $87.4 billion, the lowest level since October 2023. A rush to beat import duties helped to widen the trade deficit in the first quarter, which accounted for a large part of the 0.2 per cent annualised rate of decline in gross domestic product last quarter. The contraction in the deficit, at face value, suggests that trade could significantly add to GDP this quarter, but much would depend on the state of inventories. Imports decreased by a record 16.3 per cent to $351.0 billion in April. Goods imports slumped by a record 19.9 per cent to $277.9 billion. They were held down by a $33.0 billion decline in imports of consumer goods, mostly pharmaceutical preparations from Ireland. Imports of cellphones and other household goods fell $3.5 billion. Imports of industrial supplies and materials declined $23.3 billion, reflecting decreases in finished metal shapes and other precious metals. Motor vehicle, parts and engines imports fell $8.3 billion with passenger cars accounting for much of the decline. The front-loading of imports is probably not over. Higher duties for most countries have been postponed until July, while those for Chinese goods have been delayed until mid-August. President Donald Trump's administration had given US trade partners until Wednesday to make their "best offers" to avoid other punishing import levies from taking effect in early July. Imports from Canada were the lowest since May 2021, while those from China were the lowest since March 2020. But imports from Vietnam and Taiwan were the highest on record. Exports rose 3.0 per cent to $289.4 billion, an all-time high. Goods exports increased 3.4 per cent to a record $190.5 billion. They were boosted by a $10.4 billion jump in industrial supplies and materials, mostly finished metal shapes, nonmonetary gold and crude oil. Capital goods exports advanced $1.0 billion, lifted by computers. But exports of motor vehicles, parts and engines fell $3.3 billion, held down by passenger cars as well as trucks, buses and special purpose vehicles. Exports of services increased $2.1 billion to $98.9 billion, lifted by travel, despite reports of decreased tourist visits because of the trade tensions and an immigration crackdown. The United States had record goods trade surpluses with Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. But it had record deficits with Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand, while the gap with Canada was the smallest since April 2021.
