AADA Convention and Expo
ICC Sydney | 29-30 July 2026
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AADA Convention and Expo
ICC Sydney | 29-30 July 2026
Sponsor advertisement
Held from Wednesday 29 to Thursday 30 July, AADA 2026 delivered a strong delegate experience across the Main Stage, AADA Workshop Program, AADA Expo, AADA Pentana Solutions Expo Live Stage, catered events and networking functions.
Under the theme Leading the Way, the program explored the issues shaping automotive retail, including margin pressure, changing customer expectations, electrification, AI, marketing, cybersecurity, fixed operations, used vehicles, global disruption, legal reform and dealership performance.
The Main Stage set the tone with standout presentations and panel discussions, while the Workshop Program gave delegates practical insight into the issues affecting dealership operations every day.
The AADA Expo was busy across both days, with more than 70 exhibitors showcasing products, services and solutions for dealers. The AADA Pentana Solutions Expo Live Stage again proved a major drawcard, attracting standing-room-only audiences and strong interest from presenters and delegates alike.
Across the Expo Lounge, the AADA Castrol Australia Expo Luncheon and AADA Presidian Protect Networking Event helped bring the industry together in a more informal setting, creating valuable opportunities for conversation, connection and collaboration.
The official AADA 2026 Photo Gallery is now available, with low-resolution images available to download directly from the gallery and high-resolution images available on request.
Final attendance figures are still being confirmed, with early indications pointing to one of the strongest AADA Convention & Expo events to date.
More than a national industry event, AADA 2026 became a clear reflection of where Australia’s franchised new car dealer network is right now: under pressure, adapting quickly, facing major structural change, and still showing the resilience, energy and leadership that continue to define the sector.
Across two days at ICC Sydney, delegates moved between major keynote sessions, practical workshops, supplier conversations, Expo activity, live presentations, catered events and informal networking. The result was a Convention that felt busy, commercially relevant and genuinely connected to the issues dealers are facing in their businesses every day.
From the moment delegates entered the Main Stage room, AADA 2026 felt like a major national industry gathering.
The scale of the room, the lighting, the stage design and the packed breakfast audience created a strong sense of occasion, setting the tone for two days of serious discussion, industry connection and dealer-focused insight.
With the Leading the Way theme carried through the room and across the stage environment, the Convention opened with a clear message: Australia’s franchised new car dealers are navigating significant change, but they remain central to shaping what comes next.
The program opened with futurist and bestselling author Michael McQueen at the AADA Auto-IT Opening Breakfast, delivering one of the standout presentations of the Convention.
Michael’s keynote resonated strongly with dealers feeling the pressure of change. Rather than focusing on short-term “waves” of disruption, he urged the audience to think about the deeper tides of change affecting the Australian automotive industry — the longer-term forces reshaping customer expectations, technology adoption, competition, workforce capability and business performance.
His presentation offered both perspective and practical direction for dealers navigating uncertainty, setting a thoughtful and energising tone for the program that followed.
The Sovereign Insurance General Session turned attention to the commercial realities of the dealership market, with two sessions focused on new and used vehicle performance.
In How to Thrive in a High-Tech, Low-Margin New Car Sales Market, Paul Maric and Alborz Fallah from CarExpert explored the pressures reshaping new vehicle sales, including tighter margins, new brands, electrification, changing buyer behaviour and the growing influence of digital research.
The session gave dealers a clear view of where the new car market is heading and what it will take to compete in a more complex, technology-driven and margin-sensitive environment.
The program then shifted to used vehicles with 10 Reasons Dealers Should Build Their Used Car Businesses, a practical panel session moderated by Sam Venn from BDO Australia.
The panel examined why used cars are no longer a secondary opportunity for dealers, but a key driver of gross, cashflow, stock turn, customer retention and business resilience.
Together, the two sessions gave dealers a strong commercial lens on both sides of the vehicle sales equation: how to compete more effectively in the new car market, and how to build stronger used car operations in a changing retail environment.
The Commonwealth Bank Keynote Session brought the focus back to advocacy, industry leadership and the wider forces affecting franchised dealers.
In Your AADA at Work, AADA CEO James Voortman provided an update on the Association’s work across advocacy, dealer support, industry reform and the issues currently affecting Australia’s franchised new car dealer network.
The session reinforced the importance of dealer representation at a time when regulation, manufacturer relations, consumer law, electrification, market disruption and business conditions continue to place pressure on dealership operations.
The session then broadened to an international perspective with Global Challenges – Dealer Impact, bringing together leaders and experts to examine how global disruption is being felt in local dealership markets.
The panel explored the impact of geopolitical risk, trade pressure, supply chain change, shifting vehicle mix, emissions policy, the rise of Chinese EVs and the different ways dealers in Australia, the United States and Canada are responding to change.
For Australian dealers, the discussion provided valuable context: many of the pressures facing the local market are global, but the impacts – and the responses required – are distinctly local.
Day Two opened with the MotorOne Breakfast and a high-energy presentation from Maz Farrelly, who challenged delegates to think differently, act differently and pay closer attention to the messages they are putting into the world.
Maz was occasionally inappropriate – and somehow completely appropriate – bringing humour, provocation and sharp insight to a room of dealer leaders navigating a crowded and competitive market.
Her message was clear: people and businesses do not stand out by repeating the same actions, copying the same ideas or saying the same things as everyone else.
That theme carried through from personal behaviour to brand positioning, advertising and customer engagement. For dealers, the challenge was simple but confronting: is your message just more of the same, or does it demand people take notice?
It was a lively, memorable and genuinely useful start to Day Two, reminding delegates that in a market full of noise, difference is not a luxury — it is a competitive advantage.
The Suncorp Feature Presentation turned the focus to fixed operations, with Steve Bragg and Craig Rowney from Pitcher Partners presenting Why Every Service Customer Matters More Than Ever.
Their session explored the growing importance of service customers in a market where vehicle sales, margins and customer loyalty are all under pressure.
For dealers, the message was clear: the customer relationship does not end at delivery, and the service department remains one of the most important drivers of retention, profitability and long-term business value.
At the AADA Impel Feature Luncheon, Dr Louise Mahler delivered one of the most memorable and interactive sessions of the Convention.
Her presentation explored presence, communication and the physical signals people send long before they realise it. Through a series of live demonstrations, Louise invited audience members onto the stage to help illustrate the way posture, movement, facial expression and body language shape how messages are received.
The result was hilarious, revealing and, at times, slightly uncomfortable in the best possible way. AADA delegates proved to be great team players, throwing themselves into the demonstrations and helping turn the session into one of the most entertaining moments of the program.
By the end of the luncheon, many in the room were suddenly very aware of what they were doing with their feet, their hands and their faces – which was, of course, exactly the point.
It was funny, practical and memorable, giving dealers and senior leaders a fresh perspective on the signals they send in every meeting, conversation and customer interaction.
AADA 2026 closed with the AADA youX Special Presentation, Lead With Strategy. Leverage With AI., a hybrid presentation and panel session focused on marketing strategy, dealership fundamentals and the practical use of AI.
David Kain and Chelsea Stillwell opened the session by grounding the conversation in the basics. Before dealers rush into AI tools, they need a clear strategy, a strong understanding of their customers and a practical view of where technology can improve performance.
They then moderated a panel featuring Simon Penhaligon, Luke Manion, Eric Rea and Michael Clarke, exploring how AI is already being applied across lead handling, customer communication, marketing execution, operational efficiency and dealership performance.
The discussion was practical, candid and often very funny. One of the biggest laughs came when dealer panellist Luke Manion responded to Eric Rea and Michael Clarke speaking openly about the strong performance of their respective organisations with a perfectly timed suggestion that they might consider lowering their prices – a light-hearted moment that captured the humour and candour of the discussion.
It was a fitting close to the Convention: strategic, practical, future-focused and grounded in the commercial realities dealers are facing now.
Beyond the Main Stage, the AADA Workshop Program gave delegates the opportunity to go deeper into practical issues affecting dealership operations.
Workshop sessions covered a wide range of dealer-relevant topics, including future mobility, Chinese EVs, cybersecurity, marketing, data, fixed operations, used vehicle acquisition, dealership technology, customer experience, legal risk and business performance.
With multiple sessions running concurrently across the program – including five concurrent sessions in Wednesday’s workshop blocks and four in Thursday’s – delegates had a broad choice of practical, commercially focused content.
That depth of choice also means many delegates are now looking forward to the release of AADA 2026 On-Demand, which will allow them to catch up on approved sessions they were unable to attend in person.
The new AADA Business Series also brought legal, regulatory and commercial issues into sharper focus, with sessions exploring the Mandatory Merger Notification Regime and the way the Australian Consumer Law is affecting new car dealers.
The AADA Expo was a major hub across both days of the Convention, bringing delegates together with more than 70 exhibitors showcasing products, services and solutions for automotive retail.
Across the Expo floor, dealers connected with partners across technology, finance, insurance, digital retail, data, marketing, cybersecurity, customer experience, fixed operations, mobility and business services.
The Shell Helix Coffee Cart, dedicated seating areas and the Expo Lounge helped create strong meeting points for delegates, exhibitors and sponsors throughout the event.
The Expo precinct also became a central part of the delegate experience, supporting product conversations, supplier meetings, informal catch-ups and major catered functions across the two days.
One of the clearest success stories of AADA 2026 was the AADA Pentana Solutions Expo Live Stage, which once again proved to be a major drawcard on the Expo floor.
Across the two days, sessions attracted standing-room-only audiences, with delegates gathering for short, focused presentations covering practical issues across automotive retail, technology, customer experience, operations and dealership performance.
The format gave exhibitors and allied industry professionals a valuable opportunity to bring insight directly to dealers in the middle of the Expo environment, creating a more dynamic experience for both presenters and delegates.
The response from the audience was matched by the enthusiasm of presenters, many of whom embraced the chance to speak directly to an engaged dealer audience in a fast-moving, high-energy setting.
The strength of the program has already carried through beyond the event, with a number of allied industry professionals expressing interest in securing a place on the AADA Pentana Solutions Expo Live Stage at AADA 2027.
It was a clear reminder that the Expo is not only a place to exhibit, but also a place to share ideas, demonstrate expertise and contribute directly to the industry conversation.
The AADA Castrol Australia Expo Luncheon brought delegates back into the heart of the Expo floor, creating one of the busiest and most energetic networking periods of the Convention.
With the Castrol-branded race car providing a strong visual centrepiece, the Expo Lounge became a natural gathering point for delegates to reconnect between sessions, continue conversations and explore the stands around them.
Rather than taking people away from the exhibition, the luncheon helped keep the Expo floor active and engaged, with delegates moving between catering stations, exhibitor displays, product conversations and informal catch-ups throughout the break.
The result was exactly what the Expo environment was designed to deliver: food, foot traffic, business conversations and industry connection all happening in one place.
The AADA Castrol Australia Expo Luncheon also reinforced the value of bringing catered functions into the Expo precinct, giving sponsors and exhibitors direct access to a highly engaged dealer audience while giving delegates a relaxed opportunity to connect with the broader industry.
The Expo precinct continued to play a central role at the end of Day One, with the AADA Presidian Protect Networking Event bringing delegates, sponsors, exhibitors and industry partners together for a relaxed evening of conversation and connection.
After a full day of Main Stage sessions, workshops and Expo activity, the networking event gave attendees the chance to catch up with colleagues, meet new industry contacts and continue the conversations started throughout the day.
With drinks in hand and the Expo floor still buzzing, the event created a more informal setting for delegates to share ideas, strengthen relationships and connect with people who understand the challenges and opportunities facing dealerships.
It was a strong reminder that AADA is not only about the formal program. Some of the most valuable moments happen between sessions, over a drink, in the middle of the Expo, as industry relationships are built and renewed.
The AADA Presidian Protect Networking Event was a fitting close to a busy first day, reinforcing the sense of community, momentum and shared purpose that carried through AADA 2026.
AADA thanks every delegate, sponsor, exhibitor, speaker, moderator, partner and supporter who contributed to the success of AADA 2026.
The Convention is only possible because of the support of the automotive retail industry and the businesses that continue to invest in the strength, professionalism and future of Australia’s franchised new car dealer network.
AADA also acknowledges the contribution of its event partners, whose support helped deliver a strong, practical and highly relevant program for dealers and their teams.
Following the success of AADA 2026 in Sydney, attention now turns to Melbourne.
The 2027 AADA Convention & Expo will be held on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 July 2027 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
AADA looks forward to welcoming the industry to Melbourne for another major national gathering of Australia’s franchised new car dealer network.
More details on AADA 2027 will be announced in due course.
AADA 2026 was a strong reminder of the scale, resilience and importance of Australia’s franchised new car dealer network.
Over two days at ICC Sydney, the industry came together to examine what is changing, share practical insight, strengthen relationships and continue leading the way for automotive retail in Australia.
Thank you to everyone who attended, contributed and helped make AADA 2026 such a successful event.
AADA thanks every delegate, sponsor, exhibitor, speaker, moderator and partner who helped make AADA 2026 such a successful event.