It gives me great pleasure to be able to welcome back a major international motor show to Melbourne.

Due to a new rotation system between Sydney and Melbourne, the Australian International Motor Show returns to the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre for the first time in more than two years – and it is back with a serious bang. The huge positive of that is one motor show per year has seen renewed commitment from manufacturers.

Plus, the single yearly event sees the show take a more prominent place in the international motor show landscape – especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The July date means it avoids clashes with other international shows, and allows manufacturers to bring their best show cars.

The result is that the 2011 Australian International Motor Show will be the biggest for a long time, with concept cars, future technology and new models aplenty. With 29 manufacturers attending, the show will reflect a broad range of the Australian marketplace; from Land Rovers to Lamborghinis, Peugeots to Porsches, supercars to super-minis.

As the premier event of the Australian automotive industry each year, it is the responsibility of the Australian International Motor Show to inform, educate and excite the public about everything motoring.

You want a star of the show? Take your pick out of: the BMW Concept Vision EfficientDynamics, the Mazda Shinari concept, the Hyundai Blue2 concept, the Lexus LF-Gh concept, the Toyota FT-86 II concept, the Toyota Prius C concept, the Subaru XV Concept, the Mazda Miyagi concept, the new Lamborghini Aventador, the new Bentley Continental GT, the Lexus LF-A, the new Maserati MC Stradale...

Family day returns too, and this time there will be two of them. On both Saturdays there will be activities for the kids – including the opportunity to see Po, from the new movie Kung Fu Panda 2. The 2011 show gives me cause for great excitement – I hope it does for you too.

Enjoy!

Russ Tyrie
Event Director, Australian International Motor Show