The northern Italian Autopromotec 2025, one of the largest international trade fairs for the aftermarket in Europe, crowned its double anniversary edition—it was the 30th since it began 60 years ago—with several milestones according to their own statements. After the unscheduled event in 2022 due to the pandemic, the organizers of the biennial parts trade fair opted again for the usual cycle in odd years. At the "actual" date in 2023, they introduced a smaller concept "Futurmotive," which is to focus on topics about the future of lifestyle and mobility, alternating with the actual aftermarket fair. The long "pause" until the regular date in 2025 was used for a worldwide promotion tour. Successfully, as the trade fair management sums up.
Significant increase compared to 2022
"An edition that not only confirmed the central importance of the event for the sector but also strengthened its role as a global reference center for innovation, education, and sustainability,"
says the press release. Compared to the previous edition in 2022, the after-sales fair indeed found significantly more favor. Thus, the trade fair management counted exactly 97,348 visitors for 2025, with a share of 17 percent and thus around 16,550 from abroad covering 130 countries outside Italy. In 2022, the event in northern Italian Bologna attracted significantly less attention: at that time—still under the influence of the coronavirus pandemic—only around 75,000 international and Italian trade visitors were counted. The share from abroad was around 15 percent or 11,271.
With the current numbers, the after-sales fair of the "Motor Valley" in the capital of Emilia Romagna, where brands like Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Ducati originated, is gradually approaching pre-coronavirus times: in the record year 2019, there were around 119,107 trade visitors in total, including 18 percent or 21,439 from
abroad.
The average daily number of visitors during the four-day fair is also considered particularly high at 24,337—which, according to the trade fair management, even surpasses the record fair of 2019. However, the last pre-coronavirus edition also lasted five days, not four as is customary since 2022.
Worldwide Promotion
According to Autopromotec, the growth trend confirmed by the results of recent years is not slowing down: many exhibitors have already confirmed participation for the upcoming Autopromotec 2027 and have applied for expansion of their spaces—“a tangible sign of the effectiveness of the event as a business and networking platform,” the report says.
For the positive result, the entire past year was used to persuade buyers from all over the world to participate in the European fair. The campaign involved not only the fair Autopromotec itself but also the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation MAECI and the Italian Trade Agency ICE-Agenzia (Agency for the Promotion and Internationalization of Italian Companies). In this context, “selected buyers from all over the world” were brought to Bologna and a total of 858 B2B meetings with 146 representatives of at least 110 Italian exhibiting companies were motivated.
In total, 1,692 companies participated in the 30th Autopromotec, including 45 percent from abroad from a total of (including Italy) 46 countries.
Certified as sustainable
An important role for the trade fair organizers was also played by the sustainable orientation of the fair. The ISO 20121 certification for "sustainable event management" was introduced in 2012 by the Geneva-based ISO (International Standards Organization) as a "voluntary international standard" to help organizers control the economic, social, and environmental impacts related to their event. Autopromotec was also certified with a corresponding management. The trade fair management writes:
“A recognition that confirms
the organization's concrete commitment to an ecologically, socially, and economically responsible fair model: from waste management to energy efficiency, from ethical supplier selection to social inclusion, to active dialogue with stakeholders and local communities.”
The key topics, reflected in the accompanying program with discussions and conferences, included technological innovation, data access, sustainability, and "Made in Italy." They showcased the areas of tension within the industry and offered insight "into the future of car repair between ecological change, digitization, and new skills."
Driving force for the aftermarket world
The Autopromotec, with 165,000 square meters of exhibition space about half the size of the world's largest aftermarket fair Automechanika in Frankfurt, but about eight times larger in terms of area than, for example, the AutoZum in Salzburg, is one of the most important industry trade fairs in Europe and covers the entire aftermarket with its over 580 product categories. With its founding date of 1965, it even launched several years before its "big sister" Automechanika. As a representative of the industry located in the "Motor Valley" Emilia Romagna with its long automotive tradition, it is regarded as a "driving force of the automotive aftermarket," attributing wide-ranging significance:
“Thanks to the numerous conferences and events—also of international significance—organized or hosted directly, the fair has established itself as a strategic place of comparison and exchange, where trends are identified, problems analyzed, and future directions for the sector outlined.”
Successful concept
The results achieved are also appreciated by the CEO of Autopromotec, Renzo Servadei when he states that the figures confirm Autopromotec as a "reference point for the sector on an international level."
"The figures we present are certified: a fact that guarantees not only the highest level of transparency and credibility but also confirms the efficiency of
teamwork, which allows us to offer a solid, authoritative, and constantly growing event."
The trade fair management was particularly impressed by the high agreement with the participants towards a common future: this is evident, for example, in the certification according to ISO 20121 for sustainable event management, which Servadei describes as an "important step towards a new and more conscious type of trade fair."
Accepting future challenges
Finally, the managing director of the fair attributes to the industry the ability not only to continue developments triggered by the transformation of the automotive industry but also to shape them visionary:
“I would like to thank all the companies that continue to believe in our project, and all those who contribute with passion and competence to the construction of this great container of technology, innovation, and vision ... Autopromotec is not just a showcase but a strategic engine for the development of the sector, capable of driving change and anticipating future challenges.”
The next dates are already set: for the Futurmotive Talks on May 21-22, 2026 at the Tecnopolo in Bologna, not far from the exhibition grounds. As well as for the actual Autopromotec from May 26-29, 2027. The roadmap also seems to be charted already: they intend to present an "even more global and sustainable vision" for the new challenges in the world of vehicle maintenance, it is stated by the trade fair management.
Autopromotec is organized by the service company Promotec, which is owned by the Italian tire repair association AIRP (Associazione Italiana Ricostruttori Pneumatici) and the Italian workshop equipment manufacturers' association AICA (Associazione Italiana Costruttori Autoattrezzature). Thus, the focus of the trade fair is also on the three product areas of workshop equipment, tires and tire equipment, as well as spare parts
