The date has officially been set for Automechanika South Africa 2013. The automotive aftermarket event will be held at the Expo Centre, Nasrec, from May 8 to May 11, which is later in the year than the two previous trade fairs, which were held in March.

The theme in 2013 will be ‘Metropolis of Mobility’.

Dogan Exhibitions and Events has the rights to host Automechanika South Africa and staged the 2009 and 2011 events.

The number of exhibitors jumped from 412 in 2009 – 170 from South Africa and 242 from abroad – to 551 in 2011 – 169 from the domestic market and 382 from 25 countries worldwide.

There were official pavilions from China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey.

The number of trade visitors also increased, moving up from 8 200 in 2009 to 9 026 in 2011, which was a 10% improvement.

The Automechanika event spotlights innovations and solutions in the fields of parts, systems, tuning, workshop equipment, bodywork, paintwork, car wash, IT and management.

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