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A peace deal between the rival organisers of the Melbourne and Sydney motor shows has produced a joint venture which will run an Australian national show, most likely in the middle of the year, from 2010.
The final Melbourne show organised by the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce will run as planned in February but there will be no Sydney show next year.
Full details of the new deal will not be announced until next week, once the joint venture between the VACC and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is finalised.
The single-show deal comes after the cancellation of next year's satellite shows in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and following a major manufacturer boycott of the Sydney show in October which contributed to a 40 per cent drop in the attendance.
The move to a single show is likely to win support across the motor industry, as it can cost from $500,000 to more than $1 million to mount a major display.
"It is reasonable to expect that there will eventually only be one show," the chief executive of the FCAI, Andrew McKellar, said yesterday.
Development of the joint venture began with talks in June, but accelerated following the unsuccessful running of the Sydney show this year.
"We've had very constructive discussions aimed at developing a sustainable motor show model into the future. Formal documentation is yet to be signed, but those discussions have led to the agreement of a joint venture and an alternating-show model," said the executive director of the VACC, David Purchase.
"It is our clear understanding that there will not be a Sydney show in 2009 and the first Sydney show will be in 2010."
There is no agreement yet on a date for future shows, partly because of the need to make long-term bookings at venues in both Sydney and Melbourne and to find an opening on the international motor show roster.
Official Australian International Motor Show website
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