Busan loses luster as venue for international mobility show

The BMW i7 sedan is on display at the 2022 Busan Motor Show in the nation's southeastern port city on July 14, 2022. Yonhap

A once-renowned motor show in the nation's southeastern port city of Busan is rapidly losing its luster, as only a few global carmakers decided to participate in this year's event on its weakening promotional impact, according to experts and industry officials, Wednesday.

The 2024 Busan International Mobility Show kicks off on June 27, but it is generating much less attention due largely to the absence of major global carmakers. Only six brands — Hyundai Motor, Kia, Genesis, Renault, BMW and Mini — will exhibit their vehicles at the event, which takes place every two years.

But other major influential carmakers, such as Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Toyota, opted to save on the marketing expenses by not participating.

Officials from carmakers and industry experts said the local mobility show will not be able to regain its old glory, as Korea's market size is not large enough to attract such influential global carmakers.

"The size of the Korean car market is still considered too small, so chances are the Busan motor show will gradually lose its profile, unless it comes up with very specific differentiation points, compared with its global counterparts," said Lee Ho-geun, an automotive engineering professor at Daedeok University.

Most international mobility shows across the globe also face similar circumstances, so it appears very tough for the one in Busan to regain its luster anytime soon, according to Lee.

"To revive the attention for the event, my suggestion is to launch a Korean version of CES," the professor said. "Global carmakers are making concerted efforts to promote their latest tech achievements and new vehicles at the tech fair in the United States, at a time when they are gradually reducing their presence at a number of global car shows."

An official from an overseas carmaker not attending this year's Busan event also concurred with Lee, saying that the event organizers need to benchmark successful overseas tech fairs.

"Fewer global carmakers are willing to participate in famous overseas car shows, such as the Paris Motor Show and the Detroit Auto Show," the official said. "This is a global trend, so organizers for global motor shows need to reshape their strategies for such events by introducing a similar, still-popular format of a tech exhibition, such as CES."

Another official from an imported vehicle maker said most foreign carmakers doing business prefer to hold their own promotional events, rather than spending money to participate in the Busan mobility show.

"The participation in such fairs, in itself, may come with symbolic connotations, but most carmakers think their potential returns remain too small, so they display a growing tendency for promoting their vehicles at their own events," the official said.