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April CV Show cancelled

The 2009 CV Show scheduled to take place 28-30 April at Birmingham’s NEC has been cancelled because of the economic downturn.

sales of commercial vehicles were down 22 per cent in December and down 10.7 per cent to 346,873 for 2008. 

The decision to pull the event was taken by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Road Haulage Association, Society of Operations Engineers and the truck and component companies who collectively make up the Commercial Vehicle Partnership (CVP).

Some 290 exhibitors had signed up for the show so the CVP had to look at the possibility of holding a smaller more engineered based event but it decided that such show would not retain the credibility displayed by the CV event in the past.

“We have obviously noted that just about every other show in this sector has been cancelled for 2009”, said RHA chief executive Roger King. But the advanced status of ours did not permit us to cancel without careful consultation.

“This was a difficult decision but, on balance, the right one. What we learned from this exercise was that despite a generally negative response to 2009, there appears a much more positive approach to 2010 which encourages the Partnership to set plans in motion for a show in April of that year”.

“This is of course disappointing, but given the current economic climate and the uncertainty created, it is the only decision we could make.” said CV Show committee chairman Nigel Emms.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everett said: “2009 will be an extremely challenging year across the motor industry but this decision, while difficult, creates the opportunity to ensure the 2010 event best reflects the changing needs of the road transport industry.”

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