The 2015 Johannesburg International Motor Show has officially been cancelled.
The cost of showing their shiny new products to the public has been a bone of contention among carmakers for quite some time and now it appears that there simply weren't enough takers for this year.
According to an official statement released by Naamsa on Monday, the costs of automotive exhibitions "have risen disproportionately and this has called into question the return on investment for exhibitors".
JIMS had been scheduled to take place from 16 to 25 October at Johannesburg Expo Centre at Nasrec and the fact that it would have coincided with the Rugby World Cup games in the UK and the E-mobility month in Sandton were taken into consideration when deciding to cancel the 2015 event. The current economic climate and the impact it has on carmakers' margins was a further reason given.
However, the show's organisers are looking at sweetening the deal for exhibitors, with a view to staging a show in 2016, as the Naamsa statement puts it:
"The possibility of a show in 2016 will be considered by the end of June this year.
"South African Shows Messe Frankfurt, the show management company, in consultation with the industry's marketing and sales experts, have been tasked to formulate proposals and a strategic action plan to enhance the value proposition for exhibitors and to increase substantially the return on investment for participants."