Aftermarket, collision & car wash trade shows 2027Built in the shop. Sold on the floor.

The SEMA Show is the biggest, with more than 153,000 attendees from 140 countries and regions and 2,300 exhibiting brands at the 2025 show, per SEMA. AAPEX, held in Las Vegas the same week, cites about 45,000 attendees and 2,500+ manufacturers and suppliers on its 2026 site.

SEMA 2027 runs November 2–5, 2027 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, per SEMA. Later editions are set for October 31 – November 3, 2028 and October 30 – November 2, 2029. It is trade only until the final day, which opens to the public.

In 2025 SEMA charged $24.95 per net square foot for SEMA and TIA members and $39.95 for non-members, with a 100 sq ft minimum, plus $4,500 for an island and $1,500 for a peninsula. Booths of 400 sq ft or less got up to 500 lbs of free material handling, per SEMA’s 2025 exhibitor brochure.

AAPEX 2027 runs November 2–4, 2027 in Las Vegas, the same week as the SEMA Show. In 2026 AAPEX filled the Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum; the 2027 halls are not confirmed yet.

Pick by what you sell. SEMA is built for specialty parts, accessories, performance, wheels and tires, restyling and off-road lines and their installers and retailers; AAPEX is built for replacement parts, undercar, tools and service products and the distributors, program groups and repair shops that buy them. Because both run in Las Vegas the same week in November 2027, many companies exhibit at one and walk the other.

AAPEX charges $34 per sq ft for Auto Care Association, MEMA, NARSA and PAMA members and $59 for non-members, plus $750 for a corner, $2,800 for a peninsula and $5,800 for an island (both 20×20 minimum), per its Why Exhibit page. Corner fees are charged after booths are assigned.

Only automotive aftermarket business buyers. AAPEX turns away consumers, enthusiasts, software companies, freight and transportation firms, printers and promotional products companies at registration, per its FAQs.

The NADA Show 2027 runs February 17–20, 2027 at the Orange County Convention Center West Concourse in Orlando, with the Expo open February 18–20. The 2027 Expo is sold out and NADA keeps an official waitlist. Space is $42 per sq ft with a 50% deposit.

The Car Wash Show 2027 runs May 3–5, 2027 in the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall, per the International Carwash Association. Space is $34 per sq ft up to 499 sq ft at space selection and $37 after May 18, 2026. The 2026 show drew 9,000+ attendees and a record 455 exhibitors.

Three are in this guide: the SCWA Convention & EXPO in Fort Worth (February 24–26, 2027), the Heartland Carwash Association Product Show in Tinley Park, Illinois (March 23–24, 2027) and The Car Wash Show in Las Vegas (May 3–5, 2027). Heartland Express with ABF can move a display from the SCWA show to Heartland, per HCA.

NORTHEAST runs March 19–21, 2027 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, and the new Central States Collision Conference runs April 23–24, 2027 at Century II in Wichita, Kansas. VISION Hi-Tech (March 4–7, 2027, Kansas City area) covers independent mechanical repair and diagnostics.

AASP/NJ sells NORTHEAST space through a booth agreement with a 50% deposit, assigned first come, first served once the deposit arrives; returning exhibitors keep first right of refusal. AASP/NJ anticipated 6,500+ attendees in 2026, 78% of them from collision repair.

VISION 2027 runs March 4–7, 2027 in the Kansas City area; the Overland Park Convention Center hosted recent editions and the 2027 venue is not confirmed yet. The organizer counts 3,500 attendees and 140+ exhibitors in a 60,000 sq ft hall, and exhibitors get a free forklift for load-in and load-out.

The PRI Trade Show runs December 10–12, 2026 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. It is trade only, for race shops, engine builders, teams, retailers and distributors. PRI has not published booth rates or a 2026 exhibitor count yet; both are not confirmed yet.

Three: The Car Wash Show at the LVCC North Hall (May 3–5, 2027), the SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center (November 2–5, 2027) and AAPEX (November 2–4, 2027). Purple’s Las Vegas shop builds and prints booths for them.

The NADA Show (February 17–20, 2027, Orlando) has the large Expo. NIADA (June 20–23, 2027, Gaylord Opryland, Nashville) is a convention with an expo of 167 companies in 2026, the AFSA Vehicle Finance Conference (February 14–17, 2027, Orlando) has an expo with booths and kiosks, and Used Car Week (November 16–19, 2026, San Diego) is sold as sponsorships.

The Keystone BIG Show is a buying show run by Keystone Automotive Operations (LKQ) for the accessory, truck, off-road, performance and towing aftermarket, held February 19–20, 2027 at Gaylord Rockies in Aurora, Colorado. Exhibitors are Keystone vendors, and attendee eligibility and booth terms for 2027 are not confirmed yet.

Yes, at most big halls, under the hall’s vehicle rules: a near-empty fuel tank at the level the exhibitor manual sets, the battery disconnected or its cables taped, and move-in at a set time. At the Indiana Convention Center, home of the PRI Trade Show, the battery stays out or taped from the end of move-in until move-out.

Every SEMA exhibit includes one complimentary New Products Showcase entry, and 500 companies exhibited for the first time in 2025, per SEMA. At AAPEX the Product Showcase put 250+ products in front of buyers in 2026, and The Car Wash Show has a New Company Pavilion.

Yes. Purple designs and builds custom booths in its shops in Fishkill, NY and Las Vegas, with fixed proposals, 30–45 day builds and a project manager who runs the install with the labor each show requires. For SEMA week and The Car Wash Show, the Las Vegas shop builds and prints close to the halls.