The SEMA Show is the automotive aftermarket’s yearly trade show that takes place in Las Vegas every November/ late October. It’s the largest show the aftermarket has and straight-up dwarfs any car show you’ve ever been to. It’s the second largest convention Vegas hosts each year (based off of last year’s numbers it’s rivaled only by CES, the Consumer Electronics Show), drawing over 160K attendees and 2,400 exhibitors. Once a year the entire town is taken over by auto industry people of all kinds. Driving in the city during the event is tough because everywhere you look there’s some over-the-top custom vehicle. Parts-wise, if it exists in the aftermarket, it’s here. Most companies reveal their new products for the following year here as well. It’s important to note that this show is closed to the general public. Only people who work in the automotive industry are allowed to attend (so stick with us, we’ll show you all the cool stuff).
When I started in this industry, attending my first SEMA 18 years ago, I remember how in awe I was of everything once I walked through the convention center doors for the first time. There’s just so much to see, and as an 18-year-old enthusiast fresh into a new job turning wrenches at a small truck accessory shop, I didn’t know where to start. But I just had to see it all. Now here’s the problem with that idea: If you do the math, 2,400 booths to see with four ninehour days to make it happen, if you spent 5 minutes at each booth from the moment the doors opened on the first day to the second they closed on the last, you’d only be able to see a fifth of the show. Yeah, it’s that massive.