The 2023 SEMA Show Will Bust Out a Week of Festivities You Can Attend This week, the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association, better known as, capped its annual trade show with a big announcement. Next year, it will expand to a full week of festivities. So far, it has traditionally run Tuesday through Thursday for registered aftersales professionals only. Friday it is open to all. Starting in 2023, it will be called SEMA Week and will feature enthusiasts.
The 2023 SEMA Show Will Bust Out a Week of Festivities You Can Attend
Next year will be the beginning of the exhibition’s expansion only. Over the next five years, she plans to continue adding events to the weekly schedule. All of these activities will still be centered around the same traditional show.
which lasts until Friday night. But in 2023, Friday and Saturday nights will be part of the so-called SEMA Festival.

The 2023 SEMA Show Will Bust Out a Week of Festivities You Can Attend
The SEMA Festival will take place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. It will host a range of festivities with professionals as well as the general public. SEMA calls it “a high-octane, festival-like celebration of car culture.” Entertainment, car shows, cruises, artisan food, VIP events and racing drivers along with “celebrities” will be part of the festival. Another addition to Sima week will be the auction. Some cars from the showroom will be auctioned off as well as collectible and classic car shows.
“We have been monitoring the relationship between enthusiasts and the growth of our industry for more than a decade, and as the industry’s trade association, we have a responsibility to help facilitate this connection in new and meaningful ways,” said James Lawrence, SEMA Chairman. . “By creating SEMA Week and SEMA Festival, we will be able to maintain the integrity of the trade show that makes it a must-have event for automotive professionals, while offering a new platform for enthusiasts and the industry to interact with each other.”

This news comes just in time as OEs are rethinking their involvement in auto shows in general, and SEMA Show in particular. Companies such as Ford and General Motors, champions of the show for decades, . However, many automakers such as Dodge and Toyota continue to offer big deals for new and modified cars and screens.
SEMA began in the mid-1960s as a commercial organization, but more importantly as an entity for testing and overseeing standards for component development. Enthusiasts and racers have searched for the “SEMA Spec” seal of approval, especially for wheels. Ensured that aftermarket wheels passed quality and engineering tests. It was called the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association. Once the organization expanded to include distributors, retailers, employees, and publishing companies, it changed into the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association to embrace its new field.
For years, he assisted in legal disputes, as well as lobbying Washington to help kill or support legislative bills. He has also written language for some of the laws affecting the aftermarket services market. Today, there are more than 6000 corporate members.