2014 Sydney motor show cancelled

The 2014 Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) in Sydney has been cancelled. The axing comes less than four months after it was announced the 2013 Melbourne event would not proceed.

Event Director of AIMS, Russ Tyrie, confirmed the Sydney event's cancellation this morning. The show was initially scheduled for October 2014.

When interviewed by motoring.com.au, Tyrie denied the show's cancellation was due to a lack of manufacturer interest.

"No. We took it [manufacturer interest] under consideration," Mr Tyrie said.

Public attendance of motor shows in Australia has also been declining. In 2004 the Melbourne motor show attracted more than 250,000 visitors, but by 2011 had slumped to roughly 155,000. Last year the Sydney motor show saw just 135,000 people through the turnstiles.

Some of the manufacturers missing from the Sydney motor show and other recent shows include Audi, Volvo, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo.

Mr Tyrie was hopeful the 2015 event would go ahead, but said the decision was out of his hands.

"We are well into planning our thinking around the next show, but we just thought that 2014 was going to be a little bit close for us."

"It's [2015] certainly in our thinking at the moment... [But] it's all got to be decided by the [AIMS Joint Venture Committee] board in due course."

Formed in 2009, the AIMS Joint Venture Committee saw the organisers of the Sydney and Melbourne motor shows -- the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce respectively -- team up to reduce the two motor shows per year format, to one event that alternates between Melbourne and Sydney each year.

motoring.com.au understands the AIMS Joint Venture Committee will soon hold discussions with manufacturers to see if a new format for the shows would be more acceptable.

In March the AIMS Joint Venture Committee said: "Decisions on future shows, including 2014, will be made by the AIMS Joint Venture Committee based on market research and exploring opportunities as to how this event can best meet the needs of the industry and the public."

The news comes as annual car sales are tipped to break another record in Australia this year.