A special effort is to be made at this year’s motor show to persuade car firms and suppliers to invest in Coventry and the surrounding area.

Coventry Centre for Investment will host a special event at the NEC for some of Europe's top motor companies and their suppliers. 

It will be run on Wednesday – the motor show’s trade day – in conjunction with Advantage West Midlands.

With speakers from Jaguar, Peugeot and MIRA lined up the event will aim to prove that Coventry and the surrounding area is the perfect location for motor companies and suppliers to the automotive sector.

More than 300 exhibitors from all over the world will be at this year's show from the major car manufacturer's to companies offering a variety of motoring products and services. Over 700,000 people attended the show in 1998 admiring the many new cars on display as well as the latest in mobile communications, motoring fashion and memorabilia.

Council leader Cllr Nick Nolan said:

"In this country Coventry is known as the car centre of the universe. In fact the very first production car was produced here and to this very day we have a rich pedigree when it comes to motor manufacture and supply.

“We also have one of the most skilled workforces in the land and this means that we have a lot to offer inward investing automotive companies and their suppliers.

“Events like this, at shows like this, prove that we have got what it takes and allow us to talk to some of the biggest companies in the world in a bid to get them to look at Coventry as the location for future investment."

Over recent years Coventry Centre for Investment has helped to attract a number of automotive companies or automotive suppliers to the city, including GE Motors from the United States, EU Matic from Canada, Anofloex from Germany, Daewoo from Korea, Unipart Yachiyo from Japan and Hills Precision from France.