Organizers have cancelled this year's Commercial Vehicle (CV) Show, slated for April 28-30 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England.
In their press release, they said that the Commercial Vehicle Partnership, comprising the SMMT, RHA and SOE, and the CV Show Committee, made up of the partners and representatives from the commercial vehicle and component sector, agreed to cancel this year's CV Show.
(Continued)
The Partnership recognized in December that the economic downturn creates a difficult environment for vehicle manufacturers to commit to large international exhibitions. Nevertheless, some 290 exhibitors signed up for the Show, requiring the partners to consult widely with them on support for a focused engineering-based alternative.
The results indicate that while some support was forthcoming, it was not enough to retain the credibility that the CV Show has created as a major international event of its type and which the partners and the Show committee were keen to maintain.
"We have obviously noted that just about every other show in this sector has been cancelled for 2009,” said RHA Chief Executive Roger King. "But the advanced status of ours did not permit us to cancel without careful consultation.
"This was a difficult decision but, on balance, the right one. What we learned from this exercise was that despite a generally negative response to 2009, there appears a much more positive approach to 2010, which encourages the partnership to set plans in motion for a show in April of that year.”
Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, added: "2009 will be an extremely challenging year across the motor industry but this decision, while difficult, creates the opportunity to ensure the 2010 event best reflects the changing needs of the road transport industry."
The Commercial Vehicle Show is owned by the CV Show Partnership, comprising the Road Haulage Association, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the IRTE (Institute of Road Transport Engineers), a professional sector of the SOE (Society of Operations Engineers).