The Amsterdam International Motor Show or AutoRAI was a motor show that took place every two years in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[1] The history of the AutoRAI goes back to 1893, when the association of Bicycle Industry (RI) was established. The first bicycle exhibition was organised in 1895. In 1900, the Dutch auto trade industry joined the RI organization and the association Bicycle & Automotive Industry (RAI) was born.[2][3]
History
In 1899, a year before RAI was established, the first automobiles were already officially on display during the bicycle exhibition that opened on 16 March at the Palace of Industry. In fact, they stole the show and the public lined up in big numbers. Until 1913, the automobile, motorcycle and bicycle exhibition took place regularly, but because the organisation found the palace rent too high, it stopped the shows. Only in 1922, when they had built their own, yet temporary building at Ferdinand Bolstraat in Amsterdam (the 'Oude RAI'), the exhibition resumed again and would stay there for some forty years. In 1961, the first AutoRAI took place in the new building at Europaplein, still its current location, which has grown into a big exhibition and conference center.[3]
In the 1970s through the 1990s, AutoRAI served an important function as a European event in a country with very little car industry of its own. Japanese manufacturers thus had a neutral ground (away from the spotlights of Geneva) where they could be expected to make their European premieres of cars already shown at home.[4] The AutoRAI was usually held in February, giving the Japanese four months to develop European market models after the common October (Tokyo Motor Show) premieres of Japanese automobiles.
AutoRAI 2013, which was scheduled to take place in April 2013, was cancelled. The organisers made the decision after consultation with the RAI Association and major car brand importers. The economic developments in the automotive sector had made it impossible to organise a fully-fledged event. The aforementioned parties said they would now focus on possible new setups of the event in the future. In addition to AutoRAI, the AutovakRAI 2013 was also cancelled for the same reasons. After a 2015 edition was organized, it was announced on August 31 2015 that the 2017 edition would be cancelled again due to insufficient space reservation by manufacturers. According to the RAI press release, it seems that they do not plan to organize any more AutoRAI events.
1993 was the largest Amsterdam show to date, with the original single hall now being the centre of a much bigger exhibition. There were also more new car presentations than usual for Amsterdam, headlined by the all new Peugeot 306.[8]
^ abVan den Acker, Bart; Jansen, Alfred; Lof, Ed; Ter Kuile, Caju; Oude Weernink, Wim; Van Tilborg, Renson (1999), 100 Jaar AutoRAI [100 Years of AutoRAI] (in Dutch), Amsterdam: Amsterdam RAI International Exhibition & Congress Organizers, ISBN9073649048
^ abCasucci, P (March 1979). "Il Salone di Amsterdam: all'insegna del Sol Levante" [The Amsterdam Show: under the sign of the Rising Sun]. Quattroruote (in Italian). 24 (280). Milan, Italy: Editoriale Domus: 58.
^Enklaar, Gert (1979-03-24). "Rijden met Honda Prelude" [Test drive: Honda Prelude]. Autovisie (in Dutch). Vol. 24, no. 6. Amersfoort, Netherlands: updated publisher according to colofon. p. 32.
^de Jong, Nico (1979-03-24). "Test: Datsun Cherry 1200 GL". Autovisie (in Dutch). Vol. 24, no. 6. Amersfoort, Netherlands: updated publisher according to colofon. p. 21.
