Belgium is home to one of the world’s oldest auto shows: the Brussels Motor Show, first held in 1902. The long-running show struggled in the early 2020s due to the pandemic, with the 2021 and 2022 editions being canceled. The show returned in 2023 for its 100th anniversary edition, but it was canceled again in 2024 due to the withdrawal of several key exhibitors.
The cancellation of the 2024 event left a gap in Belgium’s automotive show calendar. In response, the automotive event organizer 402 Automotive announced that a new event, the Brussels Auto Show, will be held at the Brussels Expo in January 2024. Designed as an enthusiast event rather than a traditional commercial auto salon, the new show featured a variety of vehicles, including supercars and hypercars. The inaugural show attracted over 120,000 visitors in five days.
In the summer of 2024, FEBIAC, the organizer of the Brussels Motor Show, announced the show’s return for the 2025 edition. To avoid confusion and direct competition, 402 Automotive rebranded its event as the Belgium Auto Show and moved it from Brussels to Ghent, changing the date from January to March. The organizers also reduced the event’s duration to three days and limited the number of visitors to 30,000 per day for crowd management purposes. However, the show’s concept remained the same, staying primarily audience-focused rather than manufacturer- or distributor-focused.
The rebranded show first took place at Flanders Expo in Ghent from March 7 to 9, 2025. The event utilized over 70,000 square meters of indoor and outdoor exhibition space. The indoor area featured vehicle displays, including new models, supercars, and hypercars, as well as catwalk shows. The outdoor area featured the “Action Arena”, which hosted drift shows, stunts, and rally car demonstrations.
The Belgium Auto Show showcases more than 300 unique cars every year, ranging from timeless retro cars to extremely rare hypercars and one-of-a-kind tuning projects from leading car manufacturers and tuning companies. The 2026 lineup, for example, included AC Schnitzer, BMW, Brabus, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Honda, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Praga, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo.
The show also features an impressive selection of “movie cars” that can be seen in various films and television shows. The 2026 edition, for example, showcased cars from the Fast & Furious franchise (Toyota Supra, Honda S2000, Mitsubishi Eclipse), Miami Vice (Ferrari Testarossa), Knight Rider (a modified Pontiac Trans Am), Bumblebee (a yellow Volkswagen Beetle), The Dukes of Hazzard (an orange 1969 Dodge Charger), the James Bond film A View to a Kill (Renault 11 TXE), Ghostbusters (a modified Cadillac Miller-Meteor Sentinel), Mr. Bean (Mini), Taxi (Peugeot 406), and even Homer’s pink sedan from The Simpsons.
Photo: belgiumautoshow.com
