The Barcelona International Motor Show 2013 will present two worldwide and four European premiers

Barcelona (CNA).– From May 9^th to the 19^th the Barcelona International Motor Show 2013 will bring together novelties from the automobile world at Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc trade fair venue. The Saló de l’Automòbil exhibition will have 22 car brands such as Audi, Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz or more luxurious cars such as Ferrari, Jaguar or Aston Martin. Two worldwide premieres are announced: the Volkswagen e-Up! and the Renault Twizy Sport F1. Besides, four new models will be presented for the first time in Europe: Audi A3 Sedán, Mercedes GLA, Nissan Juke 1.5 Dci and Range Rover Sport. There will also be 26 premieres at Spanish level.

This important motor industry meeting point in Spain will coincide with the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya and the X Games of Barcelona, one of the biggest extreme sports events in the world that will include rally races and motorbike jumps. The International Motor Show will begin on Thursday 9^th for press and professionals from the sector, the same day that the first practice sessions of the Formula 1 Grand Prix begin. On Friday the 10^th there will be The Automobile Night, a pre-launch of the show with live music, drinks and snacks, with limited spaces. The Saló de l’Automòbil will be officially opened to the public from Saturday 11^th to Sunday 19^th, when the X Games of Barcelona will celebrate the final stages of the competition. In addition to the main exhibition, there will be a specific section about the 50 years of history of the Car Of The Year award.

Rajoy will try to promote the sector

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will kick off the Barcelona International Motor Show 2013 on Friday, meet with some directors of the brands that exhibit in the Saló de l’Automòbil and show his support to the motor sector. Despite accounting for a 10% of Spain’s GDP and having more than 3 billion euros invested in the last years, it is one of the areas most affected by the economic crisis. In 2012, vehicle registrations fell down to 700,000 at the end of the year, a 13.4% descent from 2011 and nearly 100,000 units less than Government expectations. Further proof of this difficult moment for the automobile industry is that the Barcelona International Motor Show 2013 will have 13 brands less than last year’s exhibition. The German BMW, the Japanese Toyota or the Italian Fiat will be the most important absences at the Saló de l’Automòbil.