| British International Motor Show | |
| Status: | Annual to 1976 then Bi-annual |
| Location: | England |
| Genre: | Motor show |
| Country: | England |
| Venue: | The Crystal Palace (1903) Olympia (1905–1936) Earls Court Exhibition Centre (1937–1976) National Exhibition Centre (1978–2004) ExCeL London (2006–2008) |
| First: | 1903 |
| Last: | 2008 |
| Organised: | Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders |
The British International Motor Show was an annual (bi-biennial after 1976) motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) between 1903 and 2008 in England. The show was relaunched in 2021 with a new location at Farnborough under the name of British Motor Show and was the first motor show event to take place after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Britain's first motor show[1] —for horseless carriages—was held in South Kensington in 1896 at the Imperial Institute under the auspices of Lawson's Motor Car Club.[2]
The first British Motor Show organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) was held at The Crystal Palace, London in 1903, the same year that the speed limit was raised from to by the Motor Car Act 1903 and two years before the formation of The AA.
In 1905, it moved to Olympia, London, where it was held for the next 32 years before moving to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre from 1937 until 1976, except for the period of World War II during which time there were no shows.
Initially held in London at The Crystal Palace, Olympia and then the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, it moved to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in 1978, where it stayed until 2004. The International motorshow alternated with the London Motorfair which continued in Earl's Court from 1977 to 1999
The SMMT announced in 1975 that in future that the show would alternate locations with Birmingham[3] and from 1978 until 2004, it was held every second year at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, with the 2004 event being held in May, rather than the traditional October, to avoid a clash with the Paris Motor Show.[4] The 1980 event was attended by both the actor Lewis Collins and the stand-up comedian Stewart Lee.
The July 2006 and July 2008 shows were held at ExCeL London.[5]
The motorshow was held at ExCeL London in 2006 and 2008. The 2010 and 2012 events were cancelled due to the Great Recession, and there was no 2014 show. The last British International Motor Show in the UK was 2008, and after the 2012 cancellation, ended the involvement of the SMMT. The 2010 and 2012 shows were cancelled due to the Great Recession.[6] [7]
With the absence of an international show in England, between 2016 and 2019, there were annual motor shows held under the London Motor Show banner held in Battersea Park for the first two years and moved to Excel for 2019. The 2020 show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
The cars listed are those announced in the late summer lead up to the show or during it.
| Year | Show | New cars announced for this show | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 27 October – 6 November Earls Court, London Attendance 562,954 | ||
| 1949 | 28 September to 8 October 34th International Motor Show, Earls Court[9] | ||
| 1950 | 18 October 1950 – 28 October | ||
| 1951 | 17 October 1951 – 27 October Earls Court, London. attendance was down sharply (375,000 from 480,000) because there were few new models and polling day for the General Election fell in the middle of the Show period. The choice models were export-only. | ||
| 1952 | 22 October – 1 November Earls Court, London 37th International Motor Exhibition Attendance 462,538, plus about 4,000 from overseas who entered free of charge | ||
| 1953 | 21 to 31 October Earls Court, London 38th International Motor Exhibition For the first time since 1938, foreign exhibitors were present, including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Attendance 612,953 | ||
| 1954 | 20 to 30 October Earls Court, London 39th International Motor ExhibitionJowett and Lea-Francis do not appear New exhibitors Skoda and DKW New models introduced during the year by Standard, Morris, Singer, Austin, Rootes, Vauxhall, Bentley, and Rolls-Royce Attendance 523,586 | ||
| 1955 | 19 to 29 October Earls Court, London 40th International Motor Exhibition Exhibitors: UK 30 USA & Canada 17 France 6 Germany 6 Italy 3 Czechoslovakia 1 Attendance 516,811, including overseas visitors 13,750 | ||
| 1956 | 17 October 1956 – 27 October Earls Court, London 41st International Motor Exhibition Exhibitors: UK 31 USA & Canada 16 France 6 Germany 6 Italy 3 Czechoslovakia 1 Sweden 1 Orders taken at the Motor Show enabled Austin to return to a five-day working week Attendance numbers were not reported | ||
| 1957 | 16 October 1957 – 26 October Earls Court, London 42nd International Motor Exhibition | ||
| 1958 | 22 October – 1 November Earls Court, London 43rd International Motor Exhibition Neither Allard nor Lagonda book stands at the show Exhibitors: UK 33 USA & Canada 14 France 7 Germany 7 Italy 4 Czechoslovakia 1 Sweden 1 Holland 1 Attendance 534,422 | ||
| 1959 | 21 – 31 October Earls Court, London. Opened by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Visitors to the Motor Show are asked by Scotland Yard to leave their cars at home Attendance: paid 560,310 overseas visitors another 19,707 | ||
| 1960 | 19 to 29 October Earls Court, LondonAttendance: 428,000 reported 12 months later | ||
| 1961 | 18 to 28 October Earls Court, London 46th International Motor Show The Zagato coachwork stand exhibits a Mini-Minor named Gatto beside a Bristol and an Aston Martin Attendance: 578,034 and a further 20,000+ overseas visitors | ||
| Year | Show | New cars announced for this show | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 17 to 27 October Earls Court, London 47th International Motor ShowAttendance: 474,086 and 21,199 more from overseas. It was noted the paid attendance was 103,948 less than last year | ||
| 1963 | 16 to 26 October 48th International Motor Show Earls Court, London Paid attendance believed to be in excess of 550,000 people. | ||
| 1964 | October 1964 Earls Court, London | _ October 1964 | |
| 1965 | 20 – 30 October Earls Court, London | ||
| 1966 | 19 – 29 October Earls Court, London | ||
| 1967 | 18 – 28 October Earls Court, London | ||
| 1968 | 16 October 1968 – 26 October 1968 Earls Court, London The opening ceremony was performed by Princess Alexandra.[10] | ||
| 1969 | 15 to 25 October Earls Court, LondonIn September, Earls Court Exhibition workers threatened to strike. The day the show opened, two UK major manufacturers had assembly lines at a standstill. | ||
| 1970 | 14 to 24 October Earls Court, London 55th International Motor Show British makes on display: 28 Four hundred manufacturers of cars, components and accessories There are girls dressed as rabbits, sailors, and as Nell Gwynn, and girls in "extremely inadequate" chain mail It was agreed that Earls Court was no longer an adequate venue | ||
| 1971 | 19-30 October 1971 Earls Court, London | ||
| 1972 | 18 – 28 October Earls Court, London | ||
| 1973 | October 1973 Earls Court, LondonSeventieth show | ||
| 1974 | 16 – 26 October Earls Court, London | ||
| 1975 | October 1975 Earls Court, London | ||
| 1976 | October 1976 Earls Court, LondonWidely publicised as the last international show at Earls Court 67 makes from 16 countries More diesel cars displayed than ever before | ||
| Year | Show | New cars announced for this show | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The International Motor Show made its first appearance at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, and attracted record crowds of 908,194.[11] | ||
| 1980 | The International Motor Show returned to the National Exhibition Centre in 1980 with an additional exhibition hall.[12] The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was driven to the show in the new Austin Metro. | Austin Mini Metro World premiere TVR TasminConcept Cars Daihatsu Charade electric Toyota FCX-80 | |
| 1982 | The International Motor Show again appeared at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham during October of this year.[13] | The two most notable new launches were the Audi 100 and Ford Sierra. Other new cars included the Austin Ambassador and MG Metro.[14] [15] | |
| 1984 | 20 October 1984 – 28 October 1984 NEC, Birmingham. 17–19 October were reserved for professional visitors. The show saw a total of 696,183 visitors this year.[16] | Austin Montego Estate – the Design Council award-winning family estate from Austin Rover[17] Reliant Scimitar SS1 Dutton Rico[18] | |
| 1986 | 18 October −26 October 1986 NEC, Birmingham. | Jaguar XJ (XJ40) Renault GTA in RHD, British debut[19] | |
| 1988 | 22 October 1988 – 30 October 1988 NEC, Birmingham. | Jaguar XJ220 – debut of Jaguar's 220mi/h all wheel drive (AWD) super car concept vehicle MG Maestro Turbo[20] Middlebridge Scimitar[21] Audi Coupé (B3)[22] | |
| 1990 | 22 September – 30 September 1990 NEC, Birmingham (trade days 19-21 September). The show was advertised with the slogan "Fuel your imagination" | ||
| 1996 | The 1996 show was held at the NEC, Birmingham. The show had 623,000 visitors. | ||
| 1998 | 22 October to 1 November 1998 at the NEC, Birmingham. Saw the launch of two critical saloons from British car manufacturers. Bernd Pischetsrieder, then in charge at BMW, made an impromptu speech about the future of Rover's Longbridge plant. The show had a large attendance of 709,000 visitors.[23] | Rover 75 – debut of the first (and last) Rover with the help of BMW Jaguar S-Type – all new executive car from Jaguar, retro in design like the Rover. | |
| 2000 | The International Motor Show remained in the Birmingham NEC during October. Honda made news in claiming it would have fuel cell cars on sale by 2003.[24] Attendance dropped from 1998 to 543,000. | ||
| 2002 | The 2002 show at the NEC, Birmingham had over 450,000 visitors, a further drop over the two previous shows.[25] | Bentley Continental GT Invicta S1 MG SV TVR T350[26] | |
| 2004 | In 2004, the show, branded The Sunday Times Motorshow Live, was held from 27 May – 6 June, instead of the usual October. Attendance increased slightly from the previous year to 461,000, but the organisers had hoped for 600,000. | Farboud GTS Land Rover Discovery (International debut)[27] Noble M400 Peugeot 407 (United Kingdom Introduction)[28] Peugeot 407 SW (United Kingdom Introduction) Renault Modus Rover 25/MG ZR facelift Rover 75 Long wheelbase (international debut) Vauxhall Tigra | |
| Year | Show | New cars announced for this show | Photo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The 2006 British Motor Show was held in July at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London's Docklands. It featured a nightly post-show rock music festival called Dock Rock with concerts by:
| Alfa Romeo Spider (United Kingdom Introduction) Aston Martin Rapide (United Kingdom Introduction) Bentley Continental Flying Spur Mulliner Driving Specification BMW M6 Convertible Chevrolet Captiva (United Kingdom Introduction) Chrysler Sebring sedan (Europe Introduction) Dodge Nitro (Europe Introduction) Ford Focus coupe convertible (United Kingdom Introduction) Honda Civic 3-door hatchback Jaguar XJR Portfolio Jaguar XKR Kia C segment model (codename ED) Land Rover Freelander2/LR2 (World Introduction) Lexus GS 300 Limited Edition Lotus Europa S (United Kingdom Introduction) Lotus Exige S (United Kingdom Introduction) Mazda BT-50 (Europe Introduction) Mazda3 MPS (United Kingdom Introduction) Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe MINI GP (United Kingdom Introduction) Mitsubishi i (Europe Introduction) Rolls-Royce 101EX (United Kingdom Introduction) Saab 9-3 Convertible BioPower SEAT León Cupra and FR SEAT Altea FR Smart Fortwo EV Toyota RAV4 (United Kingdom Introduction) Toyota Yaris (United Kingdom Introduction) Vauxhall Corsa 3 door and 5 door (World Introduction) Volvo S60 Volvo S80 (United Kingdom Introduction) Volvo XC90 (United Kingdom Introduction) | ||
| 2008 | The 2008 British International Motor Show was held at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in the Docklands from 23 July – 3 August, and was the last regular British International Motor Show. The SMMT promoted an all new showcase of the latest electric vehicle models. "The Electric Vehicle Village" brought together one of the largest collections of zero emissions vehicles ever seen in the United Kingdom, with a display of more than twenty battery powered vehicles.[29] The motor show displayed a number of high priced, high performance electric cars, such as the Lightning GT and Tesla Roadster (2008). | Alfa Romeo Mito (World/United Kingdom Introduction) Ford Focus RS Lotus Evora (World premiere) Mastretta MXT[30] (first Mexican sports car) Nissan Qashqai+2 Ford Fiesta ECOnetic Vauxhall Insignia SsangYong Rexton R-Line Tesla Roadster Concept cars: |