AAPEX opens with Economic Daily News helming Taiwan's largest exhibition group

As the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) opened on Nov. 1 and sought to move beyond the impacts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the show saw around 1,400 exhibitors using a total of 2,500 booths and traveling from all over the world to attend, making it one of the largest professional trade shows to open this year.

Economic Daily News and the media group's business division CENS formed the Taiwan Pavilion along with industry organizers Importers & Exporters Association of Taipei and Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Association. As the largest exhibition group hailing from Taiwan, the Taiwan Pavilion showcases 43 companies using 53 booths with an extensive range of products from electrical parts, fuel supply systems,auto lamps, window lifter motors, transmission center bearings, parking sensor kits, timing gears, wheel parts, auto brake calipers, AC systems, cooling systems, engine parts, plastic parts like car mats, and various auto parts. These companies range from small-and-medium enterprises to listed companies.

Traveling from Los Angeles, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles Economic Division Secretary Huang Tsuei-chuan arrived at AAPEX in Las Vegas to meet with Taiwanese companies on opening day. She offered insights regarding the current state of the American AM parts market and the

news regarding the subsidy packages offered by the Taiwanese government.

The U.S. is “a country strapped to four wheels,” Huang said, referring to the country's reliance on vehicles and, in other words, the large market demand for automotive repair and maintenance. As a result, AAPEX is an industry benchmark in the North American region spanning many years, and has consistently reported promising results for both the exhibitors and buyers.

This year's edition of AAPEX would be the first of such a significant scale since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. While the show crowds have yet to return to pre-COVID standards, it was noted that visitor volume has returned to over 70% of the original standards and included many buyers willing to make immediate orders on the spot.

Huang said the first day of meeting with the Taiwanese exhibitors allowed them to certify that companies that enter the market amid change and can get ahead are characteristics of those that would survive and stand out in the competitive market.

Many long-term exhibitors of the show were reserved about attending the show due to the pandemic. As a result, booth slots that used to be difficult to acquire at the ever-popular AAPEX show were released to allow first-time exhibitors, such as Jiuh Ching Industries, to partake in the show. Jiuh Ching's on-site representative Wang Yu-ching said they were currently processing the existing inventory stock made by clients as a precaution before. Wang added they were optimistic that new orders earned at the show would fulfill production for Q2.

In light of the pandemic easing up and with considerations of bolstering Taiwanese suppliers' exposure in the North American market, Economic Daily News had also reached out to the main show organizer to negotiate more booth space and a better exhibition location for next year's show. Taiwanese suppliers are expected to be more willing to travel and attend the show next year.