Haymarket Exhibitions, organizers of the event that runs alongside Autosport International, says the final breakdown of figures will be available shortly. "We’ve seen a definite increase in the number of trade visitors across the entire show and we’re expecting that to be positive news in terms of the numbers of factors, retailers and installers that came to The Aftermarket Show section over the four days," said project manager Steve Coombes.

Manbat, the U.K.’s leading independent battery distributor, proved to be a popular aftermarket exhibitor at the NEC and is already planning to return to the show in 2009. "As the only battery distributor at the show, we fielded some excellent inquiries from all over Europe that will hopefully lead to us winning even more business," said Manbat project manager, Myles Pemberton. "On the whole, The Aftermarket Show was very worthwhile for us because it brought us closer to our customers and we’re already in negotiations about signing up for 2009." (Tyres & Accessories/Staffordshire, U.K.)