Australian International Motor Show facts for kids
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The Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) was a big event in Australia where new cars and car technologies were shown off. It happened every year, switching between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Before 2010, Sydney and Melbourne each had their own separate car shows. Melbourne's show was called the Melbourne International Motor Show, and Sydney's was known as the Sydney Motor Show (which later became the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney).
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A Look Back: The History of the Motor Show
The Melbourne International Motor Show ran from 1925 until 2009. It was the longest-running car show in Australia! The Sydney show was first called the Sydney Motor Show. But in 2004, it changed its name to the Australian International Motor Show (AIMS).
AIMS continued to be held in Sydney every year until 2008. Around that time, there was a big worldwide money problem, and not many people came to the 2008 show. Because of this, the 2009 show was cancelled.
Before the 2008 show, the people who organized AIMS (the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, or FCAI) and the people who organized the Melbourne show (the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, or VACC) started talking. They wanted to find a way to work together for future car shows in Sydney and Melbourne.
On February 3, 2009, they announced good news! FCAI and VACC decided to team up. They would organize one big car show that would switch between Melbourne and Sydney every two years. The first combined show was in Sydney in 2010. Both the Sydney and Melbourne shows would now use the name "Australian International Motor Show" (AIMS).
Sydney's Motor Show
The Sydney Motor Show used to be held at the Sydney Showground in Moore Park until 1987. In 1988, the show moved to Darling Harbour at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. The first combined AIMS show was held in Sydney from October 15 to 24, 2010.
In 2012, the show was held from October 19 to 28 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. It featured more than 400 different cars!
Melbourne's Motor Show
The very first Melbourne Motor Show began on April 30, 1925. Until 1996, it was held at the Royal Exhibition Building. Then, it moved to the new Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre in Southbank. The 2009 show was the last one to be called the "Melbourne International Motor Show." Until 2009, the show usually happened in March. But starting in 2011, it moved to July.
On March 25, the AIMS team announced that the 2013 Australian International Motor Show, which was planned for Melbourne in June, would not happen.
Why the Motor Show Ended
On February 25, 2014, the VACC and FCAI announced that they were ending their partnership for the Australian International Motor Show.
Then, on May 20, 2014, VACC announced a new plan. They teamed up with the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) to create a new event called the Australian Motoring Festival. This festival was held at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds from March 26 to 29, 2015.
