There are many exciting electric cars to experience at this weekend's eCarExpo, but the Copenhagen electric car fair is certainly no cheap entertainment, say several of the Danish car importers now.
When the eCarExpo opens its doors at the Bella Center this week, there will be plenty of electric cars to look at.
But behind the facade lurks a growing dissatisfaction among several of the large car importers. They particularly point to high exhibition costs and bureaucratic processes as reasons for their frustration with the Swedish organized electric car fair in the capital. That's what Motormagasinet.dk writes today.
Mette Lolholm, Corporate Communications Manager at BMW & MINI, is one of those who is not completely satisfied with the Swedish Copenhagen event.
"eCarExpo is expensive and bureaucratic, and especially the first year it was very difficult in practice, as there are two organizations you have to approach as an exhibitor – both the Bella Center and the organizer itself", Mette Lolholm tells Motor magazine .
Have completely dropped the fair
At Nissan in Denmark, the stand prices and the number of visitors to the eCarExpo have had the consequence that the importer has dropped out of attending the fair altogether.
"The costs of participating in eCarExpo are not commensurate with the number of visitors. That is why we have chosen to be present at the CHGP race in Copenhagen and at Denmark's largest car fair, the Auto Show in Odense , where this year there were almost 30,000 visitors", explains Communications Manager in Nissan Nordic, Ann Stroby for Boosted.dk.
"At a fair like the Auto Show, the focus is on plenty of entertainment for the whole family, it's right in the middle of the country, and guests can experience both new cars, classic cars, motorsport and much more. It makes sense for us to participate in such a car fair", says Ann Stroby.
At the Danish Renault importer, Press and Marketing Manager Soren Hyltoft also describes eCarExpo as an expensive and inflexible experience:
"We have experienced eCarExpo as very bureaucratic and very expensive. A detail such as the fact that it costs extra because you have cars that can be tested is a good example," he says.
"Simply too far away"
According to the Motor magazine, it costs a full 8,000 kroner per car to offer sample cars in connection with the exhibition, which has caused several exhibitors to question whether it is worth the investment.
In the wake of the dissatisfaction in Copenhagen , Motor magazine has heard rumors that the idea of a second electric car fair in Herning should have been discussed with some car importers. But Ann Stroby from Nissan is not keen on that idea:
"Herning is a nice place, but it is simply too far away for many importers and the visitors from Zealand. That is why the Odense Congress Center, where the Auto Show is located, is the perfect location for a car fair", she concludes.
