A partnership between SEMA and the U.S. Department of Commerce will make possible for the first time the opportunity for members to measure
“accessory friendly” international models in order to create product.
Nearly 25% of all buyers expected at the 2011 SEMA Show
will come from more than 100 nations outside the United States.
Registration is strong from buyers from countries and regions around the
world, including Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany,
Scandinavia, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and the United Kingdom.
SEMA offers a variety of programs and resources to link Show exhibitors
with these international distributors and retailers.
The U.S. Department of Commerce named SEMA as one of the five recipients
of the Market Development Cooperators Program (MDCP) for 2011. As a
result, SEMA will receive $500,000 in matching funds over the next three
years to support U.S. manufacturers that export automotive
specialty-equipment products to booming international markets, such as
China and the Middle East.
In a closely watched case, a German court has for the second time in two
years sided with a consumer who sued for the right to install
aftermarket carbon-fiber wheels on his motorcycle.
The deadline to register for Priority Booth Space at the SEMA China Business Development Conference is June 15.
Scott Wood couldn’t have imagined that being named the Time magazine 2010 Dealer of the Year would be his ticket to China, but it was. Wood, who owns Chevrolet and Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealerships in the small town of Batesville, Arkansas, was invited to China to give a presentation to Chinese car dealers on selling accessories in dealerships. Wood sells quite a few Jeep accessories, so he naturally illustrated his presentation with examples of Mopar and aftermarket-branded Jeep accessories.
U.S. specialty-parts manufacturers have until June 15 to register online at www.sema.org/china to participate in three days of one-on-one meetings with Chinese buyers and networking events, as well as tour the China International Auto parts Expo (CIAPE). Hotels, meals and an interpreter are included.
For more information, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org.As incomes rise in China, so does interest in owning cars that show off
financial status. In China, a “musclecar” can do that. There
currently isn’t much of a musclecar segment in China. But foreign
automakers are betting that they can create one with thorough
marketing. And the buyers will be considerably wealthier than your
average musclecar customer in the United States
The specialty market in Russia is quite new. According to Fedor Svinin of the Saint Petersburg-based Tuning Inomarka Magazine,
the market is only a little more than a decade old, noting that, “we may
say that the tuning business started in our country in the late ‘90s.”
But as the market comes back from a near standstill due to the drying
up of credit and an economic crisis, sales are once again growing rapidly
and luxury SUV sales are one of the fastest-growing segments.
April 5, 2011