Technological watch

The new head of Motortec Automechanika Madrid, David Moneo, reaffirms his eagerness to incorporate new actors, original ideas and greater global projection for the fair. This sense of openness includes the incorporation of original equipment into the event, which seeks to enrich the sector’s outlook with after-sales serving as a constant reference.

AutoRevista.- For a fair eminently focused on after-sales, what possibilities in terms of present and future visibility exist for the world of original equipment? Is a forum in which car manufacturers and large suppliers discuss, together with representatives from the after-sales world, the trends that will transform the sector as a whole possible?

David Moneo.- At Motortec Automechanika Madrid many areas of the sector are addressed, but we still don’t have that link with the industrial side of things, with which we are able to connect through Sernauto. We have a very global vision of the sector and we have the ability to be the architects of an event of these types of characteristics, bringing both worlds together. The idea of expanding our work with OEMs is a topic that needs to be analysed and which would be a great idea. On the other hand, we are also open to interacting with automotive clusters.

Nevertheless, Automotive Meetings Madrid will take place on 26 and 27 June, for which IFEMA will provide all logistics infrastructure. This event will be tied to the Motortec Automechanika Madrid brand, which is the first step on the way to incorporating original equipment into the fair. In the future, it is possible that there could be original equipment products at the Innovation Gallery of Motortec, with greater national and international visibility. We want the Innovation Gallery to attract new players from the automotive industry.

“Automotive Meetings Madrid is the first step on the way to incorporating original equipment into the fair”

AR.- As a matter of fact, the Innovation Gallery is one of Motortec’s enduring attractions. What innovations will be presented this year?

D.M. – We’ve changed the whole format of the Innovation Gallery framework. We’ve taken on new jury members and created some new categories that best adapt to current automotive trends. We’re going to roll things out in a better way than at the previous edition. We want the Gallery to be known outside of Motortec in order to convey to society the innovative capacity of the sector. 

AR.- What is Motortec’s stance in terms of the new trends (electrification, connectivity, shared cars, autonomous driving) that are transforming the automotive sector?

D.M.- These changes affect the sector as a whole and, naturally, after-sales. Motortec’s duty is to accompany the sector from the market, without losing step and even going one step ahead, providing innovative ideas. These are changes that will affect relations with final customers; the repair of vehicles; relations between vehicles and components manufacturers; and between them and the workshop and replacement parts sectors. These trends must be transformed into opportunities. New business and experience sharing strategies can only take place at a forum such as Motortec.

“Motortec’s duty is to accompany the sector from the market, without losing step and even going one step ahead" 

AR.- What initiatives will this year’s edition include to promote those novel ideas that the fair seeks to provide?

D.M.- We are organising the Motortec Talent contest, in collaboration with Comforp, focused on some 60 to 70 students in professional training, with the aim of introducing them to work in the workshop field. Those students set to be future specialists in the automotive sector will be recognised.

In collaboration with Hub Mobility we are also launching Motortec Emprende, set within an area spanning 150 m2, in which 15 start-up projects related to the after-sales sector will be presented. The majority are Spanish firms with very innovative projects in terms of workshop management and client relations. Every day they will be able to present, in 10-minute sessions, their projects to exhibitors and visitors. The third project is based on a seminar on the Circular Economy in the automotive sector, presenting 90 companies specialising in remanufacturing, which they will exhibit at Motortec.

AR.- What kind of presence will automakers/car brands have at the fair?

D.M.- This year PSA will be heavily involved; they’ll be backed by great promotional work as space sponsors. It will be the first time that they attend with their brand Distrigo. Volkswagen is returning with ProService and I think we will be seeing the incorporation of new brands, which are changing their replacement parts distribution strategy and trying to attract independent workshop clients.

AR.- Sources from Motortec stress that relations are being strengthened with Portugal, which has growing interest in the fair. What is the outlook in terms of projection towards the north of Africa and, chiefly, Morocco, a country whose automotive industry is being developed at a very fast pace?

D.M.- Morocco is a natural step in the geographical scope of Motortec. Agreements have been made with the Rabat Chamber of Commerce in industrial aspects, as well as the Moroccan Association of Automotive Repairers (AMRA) and the Association of Components Manufacturers (AMICA). Our delegates in Morocco have been presenting Motortec at different forums and conferences, and we’ve organised for some 20 buyers and business owners from the Moroccan automotive sector to visit Motortec. 

"We’ve organised for some 20 buyers and business owners from the Moroccan automotive sector to visit Motortec" 

They will come together with the Moroccan ambassador to Spain and AMICA, in connection with the Ministries of Industry and Infrastructure. Meetings will be held with exhibitors interested in expanding in Morocco, and foreign technological companies will present products. Morocco is growing a great deal in the field of production and it is in Motortec’s best interests that institutional representatives are taking an interest in the fair and attending it.