Automotive Trade Shows

The automotive trade shows worth knowing

"Automotive" covers several businesses that rarely share a show floor. A parts distributor, a dealer principal, a powertrain engineer and a fleet manager all work in the car and truck industry, and each has a different event at the top of their list. Here are the main ones by type, with who each is built for. Dates for all of them are in the list above.

Aftermarket, parts & repair

• SEMA Show (Las Vegas, November). Best for: the specialty-equipment and performance market: new parts, accessories and custom vehicle builds. The Specialty Equipment Market Association runs it at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and it is trade-only apart from a public day at the end.
• AAPEX (Las Vegas, November). Best for: distributors, retailers and repair shops buying parts, tools and service equipment. It runs the same week as SEMA, at The Venetian Expo, and is co-owned by the Auto Care Association and MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers.
• Automechanika Frankfurt (Frankfurt, September 2028). Best for: the international aftermarket: parts and components, workshop equipment and diagnostics. Messe Frankfurt holds it every two years, so there is no 2027 show.
• ASTA Expo (Raleigh, September) and NORTHEAST (Secaucus, March). Best for: repair shop owners and technicians who want training plus a show floor of tools and services. ASTA Expo is run by the Automotive Service & Tire Alliance; NORTHEAST by the New Jersey repairers' association AASP/NJ.
• Latin Tyre & Auto Parts Expo (Panama City, July) and AutoAméricas (Santo Domingo, April). Best for: suppliers selling tires, parts and accessories to distributors and shops in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• PRI Show (Indianapolis, December). Best for: the racing trade: engine builders, chassis fabricators, speed shops and race teams meeting performance-parts makers. It is a business show, not a fan event.

Dealers

• NADA Show (Orlando, February). Best for: franchised new-car and truck dealers. The National Automobile Dealers Association pairs education with exhibits from manufacturers and dealership technology vendors.
• NIADA Convention & Expo (Nashville, June). Best for: independent used-vehicle dealers.
• DealerPoint (Ponte Vedra Beach, April). Best for: senior dealership executives. It's an invite-only hosted-buyer meeting with boardroom presentations and one-to-one appointments with auto retail vendors.

Vehicle engineering & the supply chain

• Automotive Testing Expo, Advanced Chassis & Powertrain Showcase and Intelligent Vehicle Expo (Novi, October). Best for: vehicle engineers at OEMs and Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, covering testing and validation, propulsion and chassis, and software-defined and autonomous vehicles. UKi Media & Events runs all three together as Vehicle Tech Week North America.
• EV Tech Expo and The Battery Show (Detroit, October 2027). Best for: engineers and buyers working on EV and battery design and manufacturing. Informa Markets runs them side by side at Huntington Place.
• Automotive Meetings Querétaro (Querétaro, February 2028) and Plastics Meetings Mexico (Querétaro, July). Best for: suppliers who want pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings with automaker, OEM and Tier 1 buyers in Mexico.
• iVT Off-Highway Vehicle Technology Expo (Rosemont, August). Best for: engineers working on off-highway vehicles: components, systems and vehicle performance. UKi Media & Events runs it.
• ITS America Conference & Expo (Salt Lake City, April). Best for: public agencies and technology firms working on intelligent transportation, automated vehicles and V2X.

Trucks, fleets & clean transport

• Mid-America Trucking Show (Louisville, March). Best for: owner-operators and fleets looking at heavy-duty trucks, parts and services.
• NTEA Work Truck Week (Indianapolis, March). Best for: upfitters, fleet managers and the vocational truck industry. NTEA runs it as a full industry week with chassis OEM presentations.
• Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (Grapevine, January). Best for: heavy-duty parts distributors and manufacturers. The core of the week is scheduled one-to-one meetings between suppliers and distributors.
• ACT Expo (Las Vegas, May). Best for: fleets moving to battery-electric, hydrogen and natural gas trucks, and the charging and fuel providers that serve them. It moves to Las Vegas in 2027 from its longtime Southern California home.
• NPTC Conference & Exhibition (Orlando, May). Best for: companies that run their own private truck fleets.
• NATDA Trailer Show (Nashville, August). Best for: trailer dealers buying light- and medium-duty trailers.
• The ATA Management Conference & Exhibition, run by the American Trucking Associations, is the trucking industry's leadership meeting; its 2027 dates and city aren't published yet. See the truck and commercial vehicle and EV pages for more.

Public auto shows

• Detroit Auto Show (Detroit, January), Chicago Auto Show (Chicago, February), Canadian International AutoShow (Toronto, February), New York International Auto Show (New York, March–April) and Los Angeles Auto Show (Los Angeles, November). Best for: car buyers comparing new models from every brand in one place. Detroit, New York and Los Angeles open with press and industry days before the public run, which is where automakers stage their debuts.
• IAA Mobility (Munich, September 2027). Best for: the European industry and the public. It splits into a trade summit on the exhibition grounds and a public Open Space in Munich's city centre, and covers cycling and urban mobility as well as cars.

Enthusiasts, custom cars & powersports

• AutoRama (Detroit, March) and Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals (Rosemont, November). Best for: hot rod, custom and collector-car enthusiasts. Both are indoor car shows open to the public.
• AIMExpo (Orlando, March). Best for: motorcycle and powersports dealers. The Motorcycle Industry Council runs it, and it is open only to dealers and industry professionals.
• Overland Expo East (Arrington, October). Best for: overland travelers looking at vehicles, camping and adventure-motorcycle gear, with hands-on classes and on-site camping.