A dealer’s sticker promising “bis zu 6000 €” on a Volkswagen ID.3 in Erfurt. A Renault Twingo in Salzburg calling itself a “Premiere” on the dealer’s own label. A BYD card in Innsbruck reading “ab € 24.990”. The four regional car shows we covered between January and March 2026 were, above all, shows of the dealer’s paper on the windscreen.
They ran from Thuringia to Styria, in Germany and Austria, and each organiser reports its own figures. Those figures do not measure the same thing, so we set them side by side without a ranking. Every full report is linked below.
Erfurt, 23 To 25 January: An EV Bonus On The Glass
The 18th Automobilmesse Erfurt reported about 30,000 visitors and 42 brands, according to the trade title Autohaus. It opened four days after Berlin announced a new electric-car bonus, and a dealer’s sticker on a Volkswagen ID.3 already promised “bis zu 6000 €”.
Kia’s stand carried lease offers on five cars, and one car was signed “Deutschlandpremiere” as the new EV2.
Full report → Automobilmesse Erfurt 2026: An ID.3 With A €6,000 Bonus Sticker And Kia’s New EV2
Salzburg, 6 To 8 March: Three Fairs, One Ticket
Automesse Salzburg showed about 40 brands and more than 230 cars beside a garden fair and a new leisure fair, all on one ticket. The organiser counts about 20,000 visitors for all three together, so the car show’s own share is not known.
The only “Premiere” in the organiser’s headline is the leisure fair. A Renault Twingo wore the word anyway, as the dealer’s own label.
Full report → Automesse Salzburg 2026
Innsbruck, 12 To 15 March: Every Dealer On The List
The 36th Tiroler Autosalon reported about 40 brands and more than 180 models, with about 35,700 visitors for the whole Frühjahrsmesse. The organiser’s exhibitor list names every brand’s dealer, which makes it a map of who sells what in Tyrol. A BYD card read “ab € 24.990”.
Full report → Tiroler Autosalon 2026
Graz, 13 To 15 March: 450 Vehicles, No Visitor Number
MotionExpo Graz reported more than 100 exhibitors and about 450 vehicles, but gave no visitor number. Its organiser published lists of Österreich and Steiermark premieres in advance, and three of the listed cars are in our photographs.
Full report → MotionExpo Graz 2026: 450 Cars, BMW’s iX3 And The Organiser’s Own Premiere Lists
For Comparison: Graz 2025 And Salzburg 2023
Two older shows give the 2026 figures some context. In March 2025 the fourth MotionExpo reported more than 21,000 visitors. In March 2023 Salzburg’s 14th Automesse came back after a three-year break.
Read → MotionExpo Graz 2025
Read → Automesse Salzburg 2023: The Dealers’ Car Show Returns After Three Years
The Threads That Run Through All Four
Some stories crossed the borders, from windscreen prices to premiere labels to single brands seen on several stands. These pieces follow them from show to show.
- What Dealers Put On The Windscreen: Fifteen Show-Floor Prices Checked Against The Lists
- What ‘Premiere’ Means At A Regional Show: Basel, Graz, Salzburg And Erfurt Checked
- Kia EV2, EV3, EV4, EV5 And PV5 On Regional Stands: One Warranty, Three Kinds Of Price Card
- The New Mercedes Compacts On Four Show Floors: GLB, CLA And GLC With EQ Technology
- Audi A1 And Q2, Last Call: The Final Small Audis On Autocorner’s Stand In Martigny
- Lexus At MotionExpo Graz 2025
- KGM Torres EVX, Actyon, Musso Grand And Rexton: What The Dealers Asked At Four Shows
- Ford F-150 Lightning In Graz: The Electric Pick-Up Ford No Longer Builds, On A US-Import Stand
- Automesse Salzburg 2023: Electric Cars On Almost Every Stand, Private Buyers Still Hesitant
Our Take
The four organisers count different things: a whole show in Erfurt, three fairs on one ticket in Salzburg, a whole spring fair in Innsbruck, and nothing at all in Graz. That makes their numbers claims, not a league table. Graz is the weak link, because without a visitor figure it cannot be set against the other three.
If you visit one of these shows next year, start with the cards on the windscreens. They carry the dealer’s price and the offer behind it, and that is where we found the most to check.
Independent editorial. No brand or organiser paid for or reviewed this article.
