The 2026 SEMA Show and AAPEX automotive aftermarket trade shows were held in and around the massive Las Vegas Convention Center, Caesars Forum and The Venetian Expo. These automotive industry trade shows gather together exhibitors from around the world, showcasing the automotive aftermarket and celebrating car culture. The SEMA Show alone welcomed more than 153,000 attendees from 140 countries and regions, 2,300 exhibiting brands — including 500 first-time exhibitors — and more than 2,500 members of the global media.
These shows feature thousands of the latest in innovative automotive specialty products, industry trends, networking, education and, of course, more cool custom cars and trucks that you are likely to see anywhere else.
SEMA Show exhibit hall
(Jan Wagner)
The AAPEX show is filled with equipment, parts demonstrations, training and more for those who service and repair automobiles, bringing together innovative suppliers, service providers, distributors, buyers and the media.
The SEMA Show officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by key leaders, including SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) President Glen Cromwell, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO/President Steve Hill, and Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
More than 1,300 products across 15 categories, on display in the SEMA New Product Showcase, represented the technologies and trends that will revolutionize performance, personalization and automotive customization in 2026.
Exciting SEMA Show motorsports action near West Hall
(Jan Wagner)
Battle of the Builders, presented by Mother’s Polish, provided elite SEMA Show builders a platform from which to showcase, to a worldwide audience, their extreme talent, creativity and craftsmanship in modifying cars, trucks and SUVs.
Returning to AAPEX this year was Joe’s GARAGE — a working, multi-bay garage on the AAPEX show floor where vehicles were on hoists for on-the-spot demonstrations and technical training.
At the MAHLE exhibit, I checked out their new FluidPRO® Smart Fluid Control Cart. This is a mobile station designed to provide shops with the orderly storage, identification and management of multiple fluids easier, safer and cleaner.
Flaming burnouts in the Hoonigan Burnyard
(Jan Wagner)
MAHLE Aftermarket Inc., Service Solutions Division specializes in the development, manufacturing and distribution of automotive services, tools and maintenance equipment — including vehicle diagnostics, air conditioning service, fluid exchange, nitrogen tire inflation systems, and hydraulic and pneumatic lift equipment. Over 30 million vehicles a year are tested or serviced with a MAHLE Service Solutions product, in over 25,000 dealer and aftermarket service shops around the world.
Incredible custom vehicles were everywhere, at both shows. Given that Halloween had just been celebrated, one especially caught my attention over at the LIFT KING exhibit at the SEMA Show. This devilish orange golf cart-looking vehicle with green horns, bulging eyes and fierce teeth, was finished just in time for the show. I took some photos of it with its creator — airbrush artist Mike Henry of Count’s Kustoms in Las Vegas, and a main character on the History Channel T.V. show “Counting Cars.”
MAHLE FluidPRO mobile station for shop storage & management of multi-fluids
(Jan Wagner)
Other automotive celebrities that I saw included legendary drag racer Don Garlits, at the annual NHRA Breakfast; multi-race series Champion Tony Stewart and his wife Leah Pruett; and Rutledge Wood.
Motorsports demonstrations at the SEMA Show provided thrilling automotive entertainment. Several times each day tall clouds of tire smoke filled the air above the Las Vegas Convention Center, as high-powered cars and trucks performed spectacular burnouts in the Hoonigan Burnyard — sometimes engulfing vehicles in flames and thick black smoke. It was automotive insanity and the spectators were loving it, despite being covered in smoke and showered with fine particles of rubber.
Over by the convention center’s West Hall, another motorsports demonstration area included multi-car drifting, vehicles launched by a jump into the air, and more.
At “OPTIMA Unleashed,” near the South Hall, there was more drifting action, as well as motorcycle stunts.
Ticketed public access to the SEMA Show is limited to its final day, culminating in “SEMA Fest” (formerly “SEMA Ignited”). This car culture celebration is filled with high-energy motorsports demonstrations, a parade of thousands of SEMA Show vehicles leaving the Las Vegas Convention Center in the “SEMA Cruise,” and live music.
The 2026 editions of the SEMA Show and AAPEX are scheduled for Nov. 3-6 and Nov. 3-5, respectively, in Las Vegas. For more information, visit https://www.semashow.com/ and https://www.aapexshow.com.
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