Alloy wheel manufacturers are among the most prolific and perhaps most competitive segment in the automotive aftermarket industry. This year, over 150 wheel brands and manufacturers joined the 2012 SEMA show held last weekend at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The SEMA is also known as the Specialty Equipment Market Association. It is a non-profit trade association founded in 1963 and the first SEMA Show debuted in 1967 and since then, it became the leading annual event for manufacturers and importers to showcase their latest products to their buyers under one gigantic roof. This year it was no different as exhibitors pulled out all their card tricks to showcase over 700 units of their highly customized cars and trucks to attract media and buyer attention.
This year’s SEMA show had over 150 manufacturers exhibiting in the Wheels & Accessories area – the highest number of exhibitors since the section was created in 2010, this includes several first-time exhibitors and companies that have not exhibited at the SEMA Show in recent years. “We’re pleased to see so many wheel companies joining us at the 2012 SEMA Show,” said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA VP of events and communications. “Wheels are such an integral product in our industry, and the fact that so many exhibitors have confirmed their participation this early in the year is exciting.” The Wheels & Accessories section of the SEMA Show fills the entire lower level of the South Hall of the convention center.
Aside from wheels and tires, other sections of the SEMA Show include Business Services, Collision Repair & Refinish, Hot Rod Alley, Mobile Electronics & Technology, Powersports & Utility Vehicles, Racing & Performance, Restoration Marketplace, Restyling & Car Care Accessories, Tools & Equipment, and Trucks, SUVs & Off-Road. This year, there were over 1,700 exhibitors in the 4-day 2012 SEMA Show with more than 2 million sq. ft. of exhibits and attractions, drawing more than 100,000 industry professionals annually to connect with the industry’s markets.
Trending for vehicle models
The SEMA show is also known to be a venue to spot vehicle trends by industry players. This year’s SEMA Award for the top trending vehicle models in its four categories were the Ford Mustang, awarded as the Hottest Car, the Scion FR-S was awarded the Hottest Sport Compact, the Ford F-Series won the Hottest Truck while the Jeep Wrangler received the Hottest 4×4-SUV award. “The SEMA Show has always been about innovative products and trends,” said Chris Kersting, SEMA president and CEO. “The SEMA Award amplifies the industry’s special ability to identify and set trends that consumers follow. The SEMA Award helps guide consumers toward the hottest-trending and most accessory friendly vehicles on the market. Our SEMA Show exhibitors are industry visionaries who determine the winners of the SEMA Award based on the vehicles they showcase in their booths. Each booth vehicle represents a ‘vote’ and the most prominent models in each category are the winners.” Added Kersting.
The SEMA recognizes and gives out these awards to vehicle models that specialty-equipment manufacturers see as the best platforms for customization, highlighting the year’s coolest products. It becomes a forum to which automakers and SEMA-member companies can align their development and industry cooperation, offering more exciting products to today’s performance and image conscious buyers and markets.
RP’s Concept One wins wheel award
Last week SEMA also announced the winners of the New Products Showcase Awards held at the show. The event organizers and judging committee recognizes the most cutting-edge automotive products either currently already on the market or about is about to be launched in the market. This year show had more than 2,000 new products submitted for consideration. The criteria that ranked high on the judges’ selection for the New Product Showcase Awards included superiority of innovation, technical achievement, quality and workmanship, consumer appeal and marketability. For the Wheels and Related Product category, Concept One’s entry took the runner-up award in the hotly-contested segment with a blue colored customized Nissan 370Z sporting a set of Concept One Executive CSL5.5 alloy wheels with a matte black face finish and gloss black lip. It had a pair of 19-inch x 9-inch front wheels and 19-inch x 10.5-inch wide pair of rear wheels. The Concept One wheel brand is RP’s home-grown brand and has been participating in international shows like SEMA for a few years now.
“We launched this model at the SEMA show this year and we will soon bring this model to the RP market.” Said Sammy Liuson, President of Wheel Gallery, the international brand owner of Concept One wheels. Wheel Gallery recently celebrated its 10th year in the business and marketing excellence, dominating the local aftermarket scene with its Concept One wheel brand, among others. It also recently won the distribution rights to European tuning and wheel brands Carlsson, BBS and Kelleners.
By Alvin Uy
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