It will be called the Aftermarket Show, run from January 8-11 at the NEC, Birmingham and incorporate a dedicated area for garage equipment (GEASI) and another for tyres (TYREASI). “Since the launch of PACE in 2001 the aftermarket has grown,” a spokesman for Autosport International explains.

Certainly there is more activity, and interest in, aftermarket shows – and each organiser is putting forward compelling arguments for their existence. But there remain divisions over whether the industry itself will give adequate support to events in Britain. Gunduz Akin, European sales and marketing director for Lassa Tyres, says the UK aftermarket event organisers can learn lessons from European exhibitions.

“It's a great pity that the UK trade is not able to enjoy the benefits of a well-supported and enthusiastic exhibition in the same way as their counterparts in Italy, Spain and Germany can do,” says Akin, who adds that both Autopromotec and Motortec generated “a buzz of excitement and were clearly of benefit to those who were involved”.

Lassa, which exhibited in Bologna and in Madrid, was also at InterTyre in 2001. The company says it rebooked early for the subsequently cancelled 2003 event.