The decision to forego the SEMA Show in 2020 has been disruptive to all in the industry, but without assurance that the Las Vegas Convention Center would be available for our Show dates, moving forward was no longer feasible.
SEMA is a member-driven organization that is governed by a Board of Directors who are elected by member companies. In this way, the industry guides its own strategic direction, sets priorities, and balances goals and opportunities.
Catalysts for growth in 2021 include bringing the industry a productive SEMA Show in November and the PRI Trade Show in December. As this issue of the magazine goes to print, both shows are coming together as planned, with the vast majority of businesses indicating determination and plans to set themselves up for a strong 2021 bounce-back.
Currently the industry is making tremendous adjustments, not only to our businesses but also to our personal lives. At this stage, we’re still getting more information about the various ways that companies are adapting to the COVID economy. As an industry, we can be proud of how we are continuing to find ways to do business while providing for the health, safety and well-being of all involved.
More recently, SEMA has evolved a wide variety of new programs and even new business units such as the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) and SEMA Garage, each offering more specialized services. As those specialized benefits become available, SEMA aims to reach relevant individuals within each company who might want to know about them. For example, a product data manager would be specifically interested in the SDC’s benefit of digitized product information—necessary to allow broader B2B and B2C exchanges in an increasingly online world. Similarly, SEMA Garage offers services specifically useful to product-development specialists and engineers, and SEMA legislative and regulatory alerts are of interest to company CEOs, legal advisors and those who communicate with the enthusiast community. It’s quite possible that information about such services and opportunities reaches its intended target less frequently if the member company’s primary contact is the only one informed of it.
Readers may recall that the current EPA interpretation of the Clean Air Act does not allow any motor vehicle designed for street use—car, truck or motorcycle—to be converted into a dedicated racecar. This issue came to SEMA’s attention in 2015, when the EPA took the position that converted vehicles must remain emissions-compliant, even if they are no longer driven on public streets or highways. Although the EPA did not finalize the proposed rule, the agency still maintains that modifying the emissions system of a motor vehicle to convert it for racing is illegal. Manufacturing, selling and installing race parts for converted vehicles would also be a violation. Most recently, the EPA also announced that enforcement against performance tuning and parts is a top priority for 2020.
The need for this kind of information in our industry is considerable. The automotive specialty aftermarket has always required companies to adapt and innovate, and now at a more rapid pace than previously. Trends are emerging and receding; product offerings change more rapidly; and the ways specialty parts are marketed and purchased are also evolving over time.
For several years now, SEMA and our industry members have been working to build the industry’s most comprehensive and useful digital product data resource. The SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) now houses, updates and distributes product data for more than 480 active brands. And industry companies—both suppliers and resellers—are joining the SDC at an unprecedented pace. There is no single reason why, but a culmination of several factors that make the SDC increasingly vital to the industry. If you haven’t gotten on board, now’s the time.
As the saying goes, “that which gets measured, gets done,” which is why we take time each year to conduct a deep dive into how the SEMA Show went for exhibitors, buyers and media. Our annual Show Satisfaction survey quantifies a number of measures and provides feedback so that we can tune our plans for future Shows.
The origins of the SEMA trade association say a lot about the strong tradition of volunteerism that guides the association today. From its founding in 1963 and for years thereafter, the association had no paid staff. The benefits provided were entirely the work of board volunteers.
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