First LCV Show for Sydney

WHERE once there was none, now there are many… motor shows, that is.

The latest Light Commercial Motor Show at the ICC in Sydney is a specialised event presented by FutureDrive AutoShows, an Aussie outfit behind similar events such as the popular and proliferating electric vehicle shows.

FutureDrive has been in the game for a few years focusing not only on providing a niche showcase for new models but also facilitate the purchase of said vehicles through its trademark road test programs that target private, business and fleet customers alike.

At FutureDrive’s recent Melbourne EV Show that attracted some 31,000 attendees a total of 112 sales were chalked up.

The company’s founder and CEO Ray Evans said more shows are scheduled for Sydney and Melbourne across electric vehicles and now light commercial vehicles the latter one of Australia’s most popular new vehicle segments by sales.

“Having a wide selection of vehicles under the one roof all available for test driving provides a rare opportunity for buyers to ‘Discover, Drive and Buy’,” he explained.

“And for our exhibitors, the show provides a “quality audience” ready to buy and looking for test drives, finance options etcetera.

“As the only platform in Australia dedicated to light commercial vehicles, we’re committed to fostering collaboration between OEMs, fleet operators and industry bodies.

“This is where the future of transport policy, regulation and infrastructure planning will be shaped.

“The inaugural Light Commercial Motor Show has the backing of the SmallBiz Week 2025 promotion which ties in nicely with our vision - catering to the smaller fleet buyers, sole traders, family buyers and small business owners rather than the big operators.

“We want to speak to people looking for “crossover’ vehicles, grey nomads, weekend warriors tradies and families with a focus on available test drives.”

The event is “the only expo devoted entirely to the vehicles that keep our businesses moving and will feature all fuel vehicles,” says FutureDrive in a statement.

The first two days of the event were dedicated to fleet, business‑only trade days and were open exclusively to business visitors across fleet management, construction, logistics, healthcare, tourism, and trade.

The weekend transformed into a public show, opening the doors to consumers, including rural buyers, adventurers, retirees, and lifestyle seekers.

Supporting brands include NRMA, Tip Top Equipment, Geotab, Caddy Storage, Stratton Finance, Fin Me, and Rhino Rack Australia.

Vehicle categories displayed and available for test drives were the latest utes including a couple of previews, vans, crew‑cabs and the new multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) people‑movers with a variety of powertrains across hybrid, full electric, petrol and diesel.

Highlights of the show included an early appearance of the incoming Deepal E07 “segment busting” multi-truck that’s due later this month available in dual and single (rear) motor spec’ said to be “packed with tech” and benefiting from 50,000km of local calibration.

MG’s soon to arrive U9 utility occupied pride of place on its stand touted by MG’s PR manager Matt Roberts as “ruggedly dependable” with novel features like a removable rear cabin bulkhead, integrated tailgate step, multi-link coil spring rear suspension and unibody construction.

Volkswagen took the opportunity to take the wraps of its MY25 Caddy and Crafter models with exterior styling tweaks and heavily revised interiors with large info’ screens and digital consoles.

LDV’s stand featured the incoming Terron 9 ute that’s the same-under-the-skin as MG’s U9 while Ram’s stand was dominated (literally) by a Yellowstone version of the 2500 Laramie model. 

Mr Evans said preparation is already underway for the final FutureDrive event of the year, the Sydney International EV AutoShow in late October.