The 102nd Brussels Motor Show opened its gates to the public today, awaiting visitors until 18 January. Belgium’s international show cemented its place as Europe’s prime car show, taking over roles from the defunct Geneva Car Show. While still below its peak 3 years ago, the show easily outcompetes any European car show in terms of participating brands, with most add-ons we love about car shows.
The Show is locally called Autosalon and offers a great boost to Belgium’s illustrious new-car market. It takes place at the usual location in Brussel’s Heysel expo area and lasts over a week, giving ample time to compare and negotiate before buying a new car. After the press day, it awaits visitors from Saturday, 10 January to Sunday, 18 January, with generous opening hours from 10:00 to 19:00 (with a nocturnal finishing at 22.00 on 16 January). The premises are accessible via metro line 6, and ample parking spaces are available with a direct connection to the highway ring.
As last year, the Autosalon occupies four major halls and a few auxiliary rooms. This is one hall fewer than in 2023 and did not feature such a prominent spectacle as the Bond in Brussels exhibition in 2023. This year, influencer and supercar showguy POG came with his impressive collections (the old familiar POGtador and POGdarmerie, we got Peppa POG and POGxi).
Despite fewer “add-ons” you will find ample opportunities to have fun, from simulators to thematic stages, like the red Gullwing announcing Autoworld’s current Mercedes exhibition.
The real focus however, is on selling cars. There is an unrivalled offering from manufacturers, even compared to the pre-COVID IAA levels. Several dozen well-designed stages await visitors, as the organisers promised 90 brands, covering both passenger and commercial sectors. 90 seems a bit excessive, but indeed, the Brussels Car Show featured more car brands than the Mondiale Paris two years ago or the Munich IAA last year.
Below we will provide you with a quick overview, to make sure you have all the info on time, but later, a more detailed article will provide you with the highlights. Factory exhibitors range from established mainstream conglomerates to newcomers from China, covering mainstream and exotics alike. This comes from the fact that the Brussels Car Show plays an integral part in the domestic car market, where customers expect significant Autosalon discounts. Importers who miss the show might lose valuable market shares.
For an overview, here are the brands located in the five halls of the Brussels Motor Show 2026:
Hall 5
In addition to Smart and Kia, this hall hosted the Renault Group (Renault, Dacia, and Alpine) and the numerous brands of the Stellantis Group (Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Leapmotor, Opel, and Peugeot).
Hall 6
Hall 6 hosted a diverse selection of brands, which we list below in alphabetical order: Aixam, BAIC, BAW, DFSK, F-150, Ford, Forthing, Foton, Hyundai, Isuzu, KGM, Livan, Lotus, Maxus, Mazda, MG, Nissan, Renault PRO+, Skyworth, Suzuki, Tesla.
Hall 7
Toyota Group (Toyota and Lexus) and BMW Group (BMW and MINI) built the largest stages (the latter occupied a stage in the Motorcycle hall), but also BYD, Honda, NEO, Polestar and Xpeng delivered a comprehensive show. Hall could still accommodate 8 more brands (DR Automobiles, Firefly, Jaecoo, Mitsubishi, Nio, Omoda, Subaru, Zeekr) that tried to maximise impact on the small segments they rented.
Hall 9
Hall 9 accommodated part of the Mercedes show (commercial vehicles) and Motorcycles. This where the number of brands really multiplied (we counted over two dozen: Aprilia, Benelli, Bimota, BMW Motorrad, Can-Am, CF Moto, Ducati, Honda, Husqvarna, Indian Motorcycle, Kawasaki, KTM, Kymco, Mash, Morbidelli, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta, NIU, QJ Motor, Royal Enfield, Suzuki, Triumph, Ultraviolette, Voge, Yamaha, Zeeho, Zero Motor, Zontes).
The Mercedes show continued in the Patio (connecting 9 and 5).
Hall 11
Hall 11 was home to the VW Group (Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Cupra, Lamborghini, Porsche, Rimac, Seat, Skoda, and of course, Volkswagen), but also Maserati and Microlino (the swiff roller company has been building small electric cars for some time already).
