Big SEMA automotive aftermarket show returns to Las Vegas

Updated: 11/01/2021 2:13 p.m.

LAS VEGAS (AP) – The return of a major auto show this week is expected to draw up to 100,000 people to the Las Vegas Convention Center, tourism and events officials said.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, commonly known as SEMA, opens Tuesday after it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic last year. It will run until Thursday, followed by a public event on Friday entitled “SEMA Ignited” in the parking lot of the convention center.

An accompanying event, the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo, will be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center – part of what the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority calls Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week.

Representing a multi-billion dollar automotive aftermarket industry, SEMA has been held in Las Vegas since 1977 when it moved from the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

This year, electric vehicles will be unveiled, and convention attendees will be able to drive Tesla vehicles in the nearly 1.6-mile underground people mover that runs between stops at the convention center of Elon Musk’s The Boring Co.

SEMA CEO Tom Gattuso told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the show had 51,000 registered buyers this year and could host 100,000 industry professionals.