Tuesday 19 November, 2024 The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) flagship Meet the Buyer event will return to Automechanika Birmingham in 2025, taking place on the second day of the show, 2 June at the NEC, Birmingham. Held as part of Automotive Supply Chain Forum, and with the sector undergoing a rapid transition to zero emission motoring, Meet the Buyer provides a crucial opportunity for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to create new partnerships and explore the latest innovations transforming the industry.
Buyers and suppliers from across all commodity areas and tiers are encouraged to register their interest, including those responsible for components and capabilities in batteries and energy storage; power electronics; motors and electric machines; infotainment and connectivity; and sensors and autonomy.
As a regular fixture in the automotive events calendar, and a feature of Automechanika Birmingham since 2015, Meet the Buyer has been critical in creating new supply chain relationships, and delivering 1,500 successful business introductions between manufacturers and suppliers since 2015. Feedback from the 2024 edition found that nearly nine-in-10 meetings delivered a positive outcome, with 222 attendees and 24 buyers from brands including Envision AESC, JLR, McLaren and Nissan.
Automechanika Birmingham provides an unrivalled platform for Meet the Buyer, last year attracting more than 511 leading brands from 23 countries and some 14,400 senior UK based delegates. It is an essential event for companies across the aftermarket and supply chain sectors, helping them stimulate growth and learn from a range of keynote speeches and panel discussions. Automotive Supply Chain Forum, the UK’s largest supply chain standalone event co-located with Automechanika Birmingham, is expected to draw more than 1,500 senior professionals from throughout the UK automotive supply chain, with exhibitors from global Tier 1 and 2 suppliers, SMEs, startups and legal and financial services.
85% of stand space is already sold out and SMMT members are eligible for a 5% discount on exhibition space.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “Meet the Buyer is a crucial event in the automotive calendar, providing networking and business development opportunities and a chance to develop expert knowledge on the latest innovations driving the journey to zero emission vehicles and transforming the industry. The Automotive Supply Chain Forum at Automechanika Birmingham will provide a platform to help create supply chain relationships between manufacturers and suppliers and is an opportunity not to be missed.”
Automechanika Birmingham is a showcase of the very best of the UK’s £56.5 billion aftermarket sector, which is a major economic contributor, with some 56,500 businesses supporting 346,000 jobs in communities across the country. The sector’s value is now ahead of pre-pandemic levels and it forms a key part of the wider UK automotive sector, one of the most diverse automotive industries in the world.
Automotive as a whole accounts for 13.9% of total UK exports of manufactured products with more than 140 countries importing UK produced vehicles, generating £115 billion of trade in total automotive imports and exports. The UK manufactures almost every type of vehicle, from cars, to vans, taxis, trucks, buses and coaches, as well as specialist and off-highway vehicles, supported by more than 2,500 component providers and some of the world’s most skilled engineers.