A Tale Of Two Motor Shows: What’s With IIMS & GIIAS All Happening At Once?

Just in case you get confused with all the GIIAS and IIMS acronyms, fret not: you haven’t gone dyslexic just yet, nor have your marbles been misplaced. There really is two motor shows going on right now in Indonesia.

One is called (as you are probably more familiar with) the Indonesia International Motor Show, or IIMS 2015. But following a split with Gaikindo (the Indonesian automotive association) earlier this year, you now have the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show, or GIIAS 2015.

What’s probably particularly annoying to automotive journalist in Indonesia right now (including our men on the ground and back at base) is the fact that they’re both happening over the exact same period.

Why the split? Well, the Jakarta Globe reported that a dispute over which grounds the event would be held at was a primary factor – we can’t say for sure if or not this was the only factor, though.

Briefly, Gaikindo didn’t have faith in the conventional venue for the exhibition and its ability to host the largest automotive exhibition in the Southeast Asian region, and insisted on it being held at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition in BSD City, instead.

So, they split, in a soft of “you have yours there, I’ll have mine here” fashion.

Gaikindo secretary general Noergadjito was quoted to say that, “We’re not content with being the largest automotive exhibition in Indonesia or the Southeast Asian region. We want to be the biggest in Asia. We changed the venue because of the increasing demands of the exhibition, which JI Expo is no longer able to satisfy. With a newer venue, we will surely attract more international interest.”

More recently, rumours have been spread that Gaikindo had forbid its participating brands and members from also taking part in the IIMS 2015 show. However, its chairman was quick to squash those rumours.

“We have never prohibited our members from participating in the other on-going exhibition. They are free to participate anywhere they choose.”

The GIIAS show will feature a total of 24 passenger vehicle brands at its events, including the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Toyota, Mazda, Volkswagen and more, with up to 20 new vehicle launches taking place.

Hence, the tale of two motor/ auto shows in Indonesia. Cheerios, and good luck to us all!

Source: Mobil123