A lack of car brands willing to participate one of the Netherlands’ largest automotive shows has forced organisers to cancel the event’s 2017 edition.
RAI Amsterdam and the RAI Association, organisers of AutoRAI, announced the show’s closure this week (31 August), despite more than 291,000 visitors attending the biennial event earlier this year.
“We are very sorry to disappoint the many car enthusiasts for whom we developed the biennial event,” the organisers said in a statement posted on RAI Amsterdam’s website. “It is also a blow to our colleagues and business partners who put their heart and soul into organising the AutoRAI exhibition.”
In 2009, the two groups started to collaborate with the automotive sector to find cost-efficient and innovative solutions to revamp the consumer show.
“Unfortunately, this has not provided a sufficient basis for continuing the event in the future as not enough brands are willing at this stage to register for the next edition of AutoRAI in 2017,” the statement said.
“It is very sad to see the AutoRAI disappear from the RAI Amsterdam calendar.”
It is not the first time organisers have been forced to cancel AutoRAI. The show’s 2013 edition was also cancelled, but it returned in 2015 to strong attendance, up 21,369 to 291,717.
RAI Amsterdam is now considering alternative uses of the space booked for 30 March to 9 April 2017.
