The Manila International Auto Show is easily the biggest car show in the country. The Philippine International Auto Show could contest that title, but it is only held once every two years. The fact that MIAS annually entertains car enthusiasts in our humble market is impressive enough.

However, for many years now, the show has had a perennial problem. And that’s the limited real estate that its longtime venue (World Trade Center Metro Manila) can offer. Add to this dilemma the sudden influx of Chinese car brands and you have a real problem in your hands if you are in the shoes of Worldbex Services International, the organizer of MIAS.

For sure, at this year’s MIAS event to be held on April 4 to 7, Chinese automakers will throw money at Worldbex just to let them flaunt their vehicles at the show. “Name your price,” we can almost hear them telling the organizer.

But the WTC’s main hall is too small to accommodate everyone. How to fix this?

Ah, why not simultaneously stage the car show at two venues? You know, like adding the nearby SMX Convention Center Manila to WTC.

Yep, that is exactly what Worldbex is doing this year.

“We are very excited to stage MIAS 2024 in two venues, the World Trade Center and the SMX Convention Center, simultaneously,” Worldbex managing director Jill Ang told us. “Although Worldbex has been staging dual venues for almost a decade already with its construction show, this is the first time that MIAS would be home to two world-class venues.”

And how will the brands be arranged in these locations?

“Both WTC and SMX will be a mix of various nationalities, but SMX is zoned for brands with strong EV lineups as well as commercial vehicles and some premium labels, while WTC will have the more mainstream brands,” Alvin Uy, the face of MIAS as far as motoring journalists are concerned.

This is not official, but we see car brands offering free shuttle service between WTC and SMX. This would be a win-win situation: The show visitors would no longer have to move their cars, and the automotive exhibitors would be able to promote their vehicles to potential customers.

Hopefully, this would solve the parking issues in the WTC vicinity. If we were you, we would park at SM Mall of Asia while visiting the two MIAS venues.

So, it’s a date. See you at MIAS 2024—whether at WTC or at SMX. This should be fun.