ADA auto show scrapped again(3)
Published:Sunday | August 28, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Brian Bonitto, Special Assignment Editor
FOR the third year in a row, the new-car umbrella group Automobile Dealers' Association (ADA) has cancelled its annual car show.
"We're not having a show this year," Kent LaCroix, chairman of ADA, told Automotives. "Instead, we've rescheduled it for March next year."
LaCroix, who has been at the helm of the new-car dealership group for the last six years, cited the fewer numbers of the latest new-car models as the reason for this year's cancellation.
"There is shortage of new vehicles ... that is 2012 vehicles. This is a result of the recent tsunami which devastated Japan. So all the local dealers will not have the latest-model vehicles for display," he said.
In March of this year, atsunami and magnitude-9.0 earthquake devastated Japan's northeast coast, leaving a massive dent in the global auto industry. Major Japanese brands - such as Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Suzuki - were all affected.
Double-edged sword
LaCroix said with the government's recent reduction in car-import duties, consumers have a wider pool of vehicles to choose from. But, according to him, this is a "double-edged sword".
"They (the customers) are seeing fewer new vehicles because the car dealers mostly have 2011 models in stock, while the dealers which have 2012 [models] are in the minority," he said.
The car show, which had its genesis in the 1960s, was cancelled in 2009 due to the economic climate at that time. The reason given for the absence of the show in 2010 was the high cost of staging the event.
LaCroix was, however, optimistic about the staging of the event next March at the National Arena.
"By then, I think most new-car dealers would be in a better position than they are today, and we look forward to the show generating additional business and interest," he said.
The ADA comprises 18 member companies.