To say that it exceeded all our expectations would be understating it. The inaugural paultan.org Premium Auto Car Expo (PACE) 2018 powered by Petron Blaze 100 Euro 4M surpassed our targets in terms of cars sold, value of vehicles sold, test drives and visitors; and we at Driven would like to thank all our partners and readers for your invaluable support – we are truly humbled, thank you.
Readers? Most of the almost 20,000 visitors who came through Setia Alam Convention Centre’s doors over the November 3-4 weekend were readers of paultan.org, and we know this not just from surveys, but because 90% of the the marketing, promotion and publicity for PACE was done on Driven’s own platforms – mainly on paultan.org and CarBase.my.
To be honest, there was a degree of risk with this approach as opposed to casting a wider net (radio, outdoor, social media), but we decided to put full faith in the size and strength of our audience.
PACE is a sales show – think of it as a multi-brand premium showroom with a carnival setting – so the quantity of visitors alone wasn’t enough. We, and the exhibitors, needed quality. We needed people to buy cars at PACE, to do their year-end car shopping (whether actual or window) at PACE.
We knew from the first few hours of the show that all the hard work done setting up the event and marketing it in-house would pay off. We expected an easy Saturday morning and a growing stream of visitors after lunch, but the pre-lunch crowd on Saturday (some were even waiting for the gates to open) was encouraging. By the end of the first day, we’d have achieved our internal targets for the entire weekend.
The final tally is 214 cars worth over RM50 million sold. Of this, 180 units were new cars and 34 were from the pre-owned selection. The total amount of cars sold was double our target, and 70% of the buyers named paultan.org as their main reference for all things automotive. Mercedes-Benz, via official dealer Hap Seng Star, sold 79 cars over the weekend, while BMW and MINI dealer Wheelcorp Premium sold 54 units, big numbers in the premium context.
Of course, the mainstream premium sedans and SUVs attracted the most attention (along with the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class) but among the cars sold were two Volkswagen Golf Rs, and a couple of AMG models and BMW 740Le plug-in hybrid limos. And wait for this, a Kia Stinger too!
The amount, value and variety of cars sold at PACE confirms the size and quality of paultan.org‘s reach – Malaysia’s number one automotive website is followed daily by true car buyers and car enthusiasts alike.
We’re happy to report that the exhibitors are satisfied with the sales garnered from PACE, but there could be more to come as the seeds have been planted, so to speak. Test drives from all participating brands ran throughout the weekend – Mercedes-Benz, for instance, recorded over 310 test drives at PACE, which is Hap Seng Star’s highest ever test drive tally over one weekend.
Another vote of confidence came in the form of new model introductions and previews. The new Audi Q2 and second-generation Audi Q5 made their first official Malaysian appearance at PACE, where visitors were the among the first in the country to touch and feel the SUVs, which will be launching soon. Also making their debut were the Jaguar E-Pace and Volkswagen Arteon – expect to see both cars in showrooms next year. The freshly-launched Mercedes-Benz C-Class facelift and A-Class were also on display.
We hope that you enjoyed getting up close and personal to the premium machines at PACE 2018. We at Driven would like to record our appreciation for all the exhibitors and visitors who came to the show. Thank you, and see you next year!
Tags: PACE 2018
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