Impressive car premieres and huge turnout: Auto 2023 ends with powerful success!

On 30 April, the biggest automotive event in the Baltics, the Auto 2023 International Motor Show, successfully concluded with the traditional honking of horns in all the vehicles at the Ķīpsala International Exhibition Centre. This year’s show attracted a record number of visitors as in recent years, in line with the trend of rising attendance numbers at other fairs organised by BT 1 since the pandemic.

Over its three days, 28,638 people came to Auto 2023, 21% more than last year. Interestingly, this year’s exhibition brought in many families: family tickets accounted for 27% of the tickets sold.

Auto includes three sections covering a broad range of interests: New Cars, Auto Mechanics, and Auto Exotica. The latest models, tuning masterpieces, classic cars, commercial vehicles, workshop gear, tools, and other automotive news were presented by 166 exhibitors from nine countries: Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Sweden, Finland, Italy, and China.

Baltic premieres
A few new cars made their Baltic debuts at the show! The hottest new vehicle was the Hyundai Ioniq 6, a sporty EV with ultra-fast charging and a range of up to 600 kilometres on a single charge. The Italian Maserati GranTurismo sports coupe, the Citro?n C4 X SUV/estate combo, as well as various updated versions of well-known models by Audi, Nissan, Cupra, SEAT, Maserati, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Skoda, Renault, Dacia, Citro?n, Opel, Suzuki, SsangYong, and Isuzu also made debuts at the fair in Ķīpsala.

Along with the latest passenger cars, there were also commercial cargo and passenger vehicles, by brands such as Otokar, MAN, Foton, Ford Trucks, and Cenntro, as well as specialised vehicles, including fully electric ones. The show also featured a broad range of camper vans, quad bikes, and electric scooters.

The WhatCar.lv Latvian car buyer guide offered its guests an insight into the history and technical progress of off-road vehicles, from the world’s first jeep to the latest SUVs. The show’s audience was very interested in taking a look at the grandfather of off-road vehicles, the Willys Jeep, the first Range Rover luxury SUV, and the 1980s Toyota Land Cruiser. As a contrast to these classic 4x4s, there was the new-generation Land Cruiser and the all-new Ford Ranger Raptor sports pick-up.

Car experts and well-known racing drivers
Everyone at the show could discover new vehicles in Ķīpsala together with car expert and journalist Normunds Avotiņš, who asked dealers detailed questions and shared his personal experience.
At the Latvian Automobile Federation booth, people could discover the news of motorsports and meet a few racing drivers: Kristaps Blušs (drifting), Madars Dīriņš (rally), Kristaps Gasparovičs (go-karting), Maija Stakena (rallycross) and Valters Zviedris (road racing). Meanwhile, Latvian national ice hockey team players Ralfs Freibergs and Uvis Balinskis visited the Škoda exhibition. The show’s guests rushed to get their autographs!

Auto Mechanics: from hand tools to workshop equipment
The Auto Mechanics section had the latest things the industry has to offer: tyres, rims, vehicle care products, anti-corrosion treatment solutions, equipment and machinery for car shops, car washes, service stations, etc. It included a broad range of brands, including Eleport, Wurth, Josam, Standox, Meguiars, Kurbads, Krown, Radex Europe, Baltyre, AN Riepas Diski, Rags, Apex Motors, Animo, Signeda, Getz Nordic, and Rohe Latvijā.

The most remarkable exhibit here was at the Meguiars booth, which featured a 1930s BMW recently restored in Latvia. Its market value is more than 100,000 euros! It was actually unveiled on the first day of the show, just like the premieres of the latest models. The BMW came from a workshop known for its Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar restoration projects that one could see at previous years’ shows. Another unusual vehicle at Auto Mechanics was the Karma Revero, an American sporty luxury hybrid sedan. Only a few thousand were made a few years ago.

The entrances to the two exhibition halls offered modern fuel station concepts by ASTARTE-NAFTA and Neste, which presented new products, discussed fuel quality, and offered special discounts.

Auto Exotica: the tuning show
The loudest section of the show, Auto Exotica, brought together members of car clubs from Latvian and other countries, presenting vehicle conversions and restored classics to the show’s guests.

The winners of the Auto Exotica Awards 2023 competition were determined and awarded at the show. ‘Ņujorkas karalis’ (‘The King of New York’), a Scania truck beautifully rebuilt and airbrushed with the theme of Swedish hockey goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, was the most remarkable vehicle at Auto Exotica and got the Best Car of the Event award. Its Latvian competitor, Vera, a truck converted for shows, won in the Best Truck Tuning category.

A Marvel superhero-themed show car came from Finland, winning in Best Family Car Tuning.

The Mercedes-AMG GT R got the best sports car award, which goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, with a top speed of 318 km/h at 585 hp. At its launch in 2017, it was found to be the fifth fastest production car at the demanding Nürburgring track competition. Such impressive performance made it possible for the GT R to become the official safety car of Formula 1, which goes in front of F1 race cars on the track.

One cannot imagine Auto Exotica without loud music and powerful sound equipment, so the title for the best and loudest car audio system booth and stage went to the joint stand of Sound Pit and Digisound whose stage offered car audio demonstrations across the three days of the event, with the accompanying music brought by DJ [Ex] da Bass and DJ pm2theam. The breakdance group Diverse Styles Crew - Breaking Team, the Bachata Riga dance studio, and Baila Rico - Salsa and Latin Dances Studio encouraged the guests to join in the dancing.

The next show, Auto 2024, will take place on 19-21 April 2024 at the International Exhibition Centre in Ķīpsala.

Auto 2023 was organised by the BT 1 international exhibition company and supported by the Motointegrator.lv vehicle service search platform, a free database where you can look up a workshop for scheduled maintenance or unexpected repairs, read unbiased reviews, compare prices, and book an appointment online.