A Genesis concept car is on display during the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show at the KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in this undated file photo. Korea Times file

The Seoul Mobility Show is not expected to make a big splash this year, as fewer imported carmakers are willing to expand their spending on the biennial automotive event due to its underwhelming promotional impact, industry officials said Wednesday.

Only six imported car brands — BMW, MINI, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Porsche and BYD, all of which perform well in the local market — will set up their own booths for the eight-day exhibition scheduled to begin April 3.

But other brands with less impressive earnings here are deciding against allocating marketing budgets for the upcoming event, citing poor sales. Carmakers have to spend at least hundreds of millions of won to rent booths for the show.

According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, the number of imported vehicles newly registered here last year fell by 2.9 percent from a year earlier. This is a losing streak for two consecutive years. The figure for 2023 also dropped by 4.4 percent from the previous year.

The absentees for the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show include the Korea operations of Volkswagen, Audi, Stellantis and Ford — all of which have in recent years reported dwindling sales as a result of the toughening competition from the aforementioned German luxury carmakers and emerging electric vehicle (EV) players.

"A growing number of imported carmakers here feel a sense of financial burden to expand their marketing for such motor shows, as they face falling revenues and remain doubtful over the promotional effect of such events," an official from the industry said.

The Porsche Vision 357 is displayed during the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, March 30, 2023. Korea Times file

However, this marks the first time BYD Korea will join the event after the brand debuted here in January. Backed by Chinese capital, the local subsidiary of the Shenzhen-headquartered EV maker is on track to increase its investment here for a preemptive expansion in EV sales.

Other famous foreign brands, such as Volvo Car, General Motors and Toyota Motor, will also be absent from the upcoming exhibition in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Industry officials also voiced similar views, underlining the importance of "completely revamping" the overall format of the exhibition.

"It is becoming a global trend that carmakers remain reluctant to attend even globally renowned auto shows in Europe and the United States," the official said. "The Seoul Mobility Show offers a much less symbolic identity, so the event should drastically change formats for its sustainable growth."