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Brussels Motor Show in danger of permanently closing

An image of cars at the 98th edition of the Brussels Motor Show, at Brussels Expo, on Thursday 09 January 2020, in Brussels. ( BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE)
06:51 16/09/2021

The Brussels Motor Show, the country's largest annual show, is in danger of being cancelled permanently after car importer and distributor the D'Ieteren group announced on Tuesday that it will no longer participate in the event.

The Stellantis group of car manufacturers, which includes Peugeot, Fiat, Opel, and Citroën, will also make a decision over its future participation this week.

D'Ieteren is one of the leading distributors in Belgium and oversees the Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti brands in the country.

Should the Stellantis group follow the decision of D'Ieteren, the show will have no chance of surviving. Together, D'Ieteren and Stellantis, which had already refused to commit to the next edition of the show when approached in May, account for almost half of new car sales in Belgium.

Other leading participants of the show have based their future involvement in the show on the presence of at least two-thirds of the market players. Should that condition not be met, more companies will pull out and the curtain will likely come down on the Motor Show for good.

 

Written by Nick Amies