AUTOMOTIVE + MOBILITY EXHIBITS
Automotive Trade Show Booths + Exhibit Design
At SEMA, the show vehicle is the booth. At AAPEX, the buyer wants to see the part in motion. At NADA, your dealers want a meeting space that doesn’t feel like one. You’re not selling a brochure. You’re selling a build, a system, or a relationship that runs for the next five model years. We design and fabricate automotive trade show booths that hold up to all three audiences and the freight schedule in between.
INDUSTRY CONTEXT
What Makes Automotive Trade Show Booths Different?
Automotive booths get built around vehicles, not around copy. At SEMA, your custom build or tire portfolio sits inside the booth, and the structure has to frame it without competing with it. The vehicle drives the design, the lighting, the sightlines, and the load on the floor.
The physical requirements stack up. Drive-on platforms need load ratings. Vehicles inside the LVCC need exhaust mitigation, fuel limits, and battery disconnection at posted thresholds. SEMA’s Diamond Lot adds paving conditions and freight access. None of it is improvisable on move-in day.
The buyer on this floor knows your product. A jobber at AAPEX has handled your part. A SEMA aftermarket buyer has seen three competing builds before yours. Hide product behind copy and you lose ground in the first thirty seconds of a real conversation.
That’s why our automotive builds put the vehicle, the part, or the system where the buyer can get close. We design around the asset, fabricate the staging in Minneapolis, and ship a build that’s already been assembled and photographed.
SHOWS WE KNOW
The Trade Shows That Define Automotive
We build for the shows that define the automotive year, from aftermarket and performance to OEM concept reveals. Six anchors set the calendar, and most automotive programs span at least three of them.
SEMA Show
Las Vegas Convention Center, every November. Around 160,000 trade-only attendees and 2,400 exhibitors spread across Lower South, Central, and the outdoor Diamond Lot. Booths here compete with full custom builds and painted vehicles for attention.
AAPEX
Venetian Expo, Las Vegas, same week as SEMA. About 46,000 buyers focused on aftermarket parts, service, and repair. The audience is technical and evaluates booths by product access and content, not crowd theater.
NADA Show
Rotates between Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Dallas, late January. Around 25,000 dealer principals and dealership executives. Booths here are part showroom, part meeting room. Private conversation zones matter more than crowd theater.
PRI Show
CES (West Hall)
Las Vegas Convention Center, January. The mobility, EV, and ADAS exhibitors concentrate in West Hall. OEM engineering teams, supplier executives, and tech press fill the aisles. Demos are interactive but still need to communicate the hardware story.
NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show)
Huntington Place, Detroit. Media and industry days lead the public opening. OEM concept reveals, press conferences, and global launches live here. Booths flex from static showroom to live activation across the show’s run.
OUR WORK
Automotive and Mobility Exhibits We’ve Built
CONEXPO · LAS VEGAS, NV
Revolution Concrete
Revolution Concrete Mixers needed an exhibit big enough for CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026. We delivered 1,800 square feet, two full-size mixer trucks, and a last-minute product launch handled on time.
Commodity Classic · Houston, TX
Firestone AG
At Commodity Classic in Houston, Firestone AG launched the Regency AG tire and reintroduced a refreshed brand. We built the exhibit around a locally sourced John Deere tractor and designed it for conversation.
Capabilities
What We Bring to Automotive Trade Show Exhibits
CUSTOM TRADE SHOW BOOTHS
Drive-on platforms, load-rated flooring, lighting designed to read on painted vehicles. We build automotive exhibits that frame the asset and route the audience around it.
CUSTOM PROP + SCENIC FABRICATION
When the production model isn’t ready or the booth needs an oversized brand moment, we fabricate it. Replica vehicles, exploded-view part walls, and full pit-lane scenic builds come out of our Minneapolis shop.
Event Technology
AR overlays on engine bays, configurator stations, telematics dashboards, and VR test drives. The tech gets designed into the booth structure, not bolted to it afterward.
FAQS
Common Questions About Automotive Trade Show Booths
What do automotive brands need to know before designing a trade show booth?
Start with the vehicle, part, or system the booth has to frame. Most automotive booths fail at design because the brand briefs creative before mapping the physical asset, audience flow, and demo requirement. Decide whether you need drive-on access, weight-rated platforms, integrated lift, or live operating equipment before committing to a layout. Lock in your show list early. SEMA, AAPEX, NADA, PRI, CES West Hall, and NAIAS each pull a different audience and expect a different build.
Can you display running vehicles or operate equipment inside a convention center?
How much lead time does an automotive trade show exhibit require?
Plan for 9 to 12 months for a custom automotive build, longer if a vehicle integration or scenic fabrication piece is involved. Aftermarket booths at SEMA and AAPEX commonly start in February for November. NADA exhibits with private meeting zones need at least 6 months. CES West Hall builds with interactive demos run closer to 10 months. Freight scheduling, union labor coordination, and venue paperwork set the floor on timeline, not design speed.
What’s different about exhibiting at SEMA versus AAPEX, even though they’re the same week?
The audience and the buying motion. SEMA’s floor is built around specialty equipment, performance parts, and custom vehicle culture, and the audience rewards visual statement and vehicle staging. AAPEX is service-side: repair parts, aftermarket programs, and shop owner attendance. The audience is jobbers, distributors, and shop owners who evaluate booths on technical content and product access. Same week, same city, almost entirely different exhibit register. Play both halls and you’ll usually run two builds, not one.