KLIMS 2026 Set to Take Place from June 12 to 21, Alternates with MAS

MAA announced that KLIMS will be moved to a mid-year slot next year, as it will be alternated with the Malaysia Autoshow.

Besides announcing the latest vehicle sales report, today’s Malaysia Automotive Association (MAA) press conference also sees the association confirming the dates for the next Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS). For next year's edition, KLIMS will be moved to a mid-year slot, where it will alternate with the Malaysia Autoshow (MAS), which is usually held in May.

In conjunction with this date slot change, MAA also announced the official date for the upcoming KLIMS 2026, which will be taking place from June 12 to 21, with the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) again being selected as the show’s venue.

MAA President Mohd Shamsor Mohd Zaid (centre)

Despite this switch and alternating strategy, MAA president Mohd Shamsor Mohd Zaid insists that KLIMS will continue to serve as a traditional motor show, with showcases of new products and concepts being its primary focus. This strategy sets it apart from MAS, which features a more sales-based strategy, where visitors can directly place a booking and go for test drives on the displayed products.

With its official date having been announced, MAA pledged that it will feature some improvements over the previous edition, which was the first time KLIMS was held after six years of pandemic-induced hiatus. The association is also working to introduce some new elements to next year’s KLIMS, such as offering test drives, although those changes will depend on the willingness of the brands participating.

“We are already having a strong indication that even [the brands that did not participate last year] are planning to sign up for the show,” Mohd Shamsor said. “We hope that we will have a much more exciting show next year.”

More importantly, these changes will address several shortcomings from last year’s show, such as the lack of a proper facility for media, key absentees from prominent car brands, and many more.

The MAA president further explained that some of these shortcomings were due to the rushed nature of the show’s organisation after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the new format that focuses on the broader mobility scale, as opposed to the previous instalment, then called the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show.