SEMA Show 2026

What does SEMA Show 2026 bring to Las Vegas?

SEMA Show 2026 runs November 3-6, 2026 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The 2025 edition drew more than 153,000 attendees and 2,300 exhibiting brands; those are past results, not a projection for this year. The new Powersports/Side-by-Side (SxS)/Lifestyle Section adds a product area to the 2026 floor.

For context beyond this edition, SEMA lists the next show as 2027 | November 2 - 5.

Which aftermarket teams belong at the 2026 SEMA Show?

The 2026 SEMA Show is a trade-only event for most of its four-day run, with a separate public opening on Friday, November 6th. Manufacturers and buyers working in Racing & Performance (305), Trucks, SUVs & Off-Road (268), and Tools & Equipment (213) can use the current category list to identify relevant counterparts.

SEMA also advertises 99+ free education sessions, while the 2025 post-show report records representation from 140 countries and regions. Neither figure is a 2026 buyer-role breakdown.

When do the SEMA Show doors open each day?

SEMA Show 2026 spans November 3-6, 2026. The official hall schedule gives Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the same 9:00am - 5:00pm window, followed by Friday at 9:00am - 4:00pm. Badge registration ends earlier on Friday, at 7:30am - 2:00pm. The last day therefore has less time for both floor visits and onsite registration.

| Day | Exhibit hall | | --- | --- | | Tuesday, November 3 | 9:00am - 5:00pm | | Wednesday, November 4 | 9:00am - 5:00pm | | Thursday, November 5 | 9:00am - 5:00pm | | Friday, November 6 | 9:00am - 4:00pm |

How many exhibit hours are available from Tuesday through Friday?

The published schedule gives SEMA three 9:00am - 5:00pm days and a final 9:00am - 4:00pm Friday. That is 8 + 8 + 8 + 7 = 31 floor hours across four show days, with Friday ending one hour earlier. A daily plan that assumes four identical eight-hour days would overstate available exhibit time.

See the event-day arithmetic in the planning guide.

How are the SEMA halls and on-floor features arranged?

The Las Vegas Convention Center at 3150 Paradise Road is the 2026 site. SEMA places the New Products Showcase in Lower South Hall at Booth #41271 and the FutureTech Studio in Central Hall at Booth #24401. Battle of the Builders is also in Central Hall at Booth #24743; the Collision Repair Stage is in South Hall Upper at Booth #31147.

The floor plan separates discovery stops from education and builder events, so a walk between those four points crosses multiple halls.

Which transit and badge-pickup routes reach the LVCC?

SEMA identifies free hotel shuttles serving 45+ locations and points attendees toward the Las Vegas Monorail. Its badge pickup information includes West Hall and South Hall East, which are different entry points on the convention center campus. The badge desk and meeting hall can therefore sit on different parts of the campus.

The organizer does not give one universal transit time because the hotel, route and hall entrance vary. The shuttle coverage is broad, but the relevant route depends on the booked property. A meeting location should therefore name the hall and booth, not just the convention center.

What does SEMA Show registration cost in October 2026?

The current industry-attendee registration tier is $100 for the September 26 through November 6 period. Earlier published windows were $50 and $75, and those deadlines have passed as of October 16. One badge provides access to both the SEMA and AAPEX Shows during their operating dates.

| Registration window | Attendee price | | --- | --- | | May 4 to June 26 | $50 | | June 27 to September 25 | $75 | | September 26 to November 6 | $100 |

Who may use a SEMA badge, and what happens if it is lost?

SEMA describes Tuesday through Thursday as trade-only event access and opens a separate public route on Friday, November 6th. Badges cannot be transferred or resold; a lost badge has a $100 onsite reprint fee. Exhibitors exceeding their allotted personnel pay $100 USD per person over company allotment onsite.

The same industry badge covers both the SEMA and AAPEX Shows, although AAPEX ends on November 5, 2026.

How does official SEMA housing connect to the show?

SEMA names onPeak as its official housing agency and describes a free hotel-shuttle network serving 45+ locations. The Las Vegas Monorail is another published route to the show area. These are confirmed transport and booking channels, but the retrieved public pages do not establish a stable, property-by-property 2026 room rate.

The distinction matters for budgeting: a booth-rate calculation can be made from published prices, while hotel spend still depends on a live room selection.

What travel timing is established for the four show days?

As of October 16, the reviewed SEMA pages establish the four show dates, November 3-6, 2026, and the Tuesday opening at 9:00am - 5:00pm. They also show the shorter Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm window. The public sources checked do not state a reliable airport-to-LVCC transfer duration for a specific arrival route, so this section cannot claim a fixed flight or hotel arrival cutoff.

Which SEMA exhibitors and product areas are documented?

SEMA reported 2,300 exhibiting brands in 2025, including 500 first-time exhibitors; those totals do not describe the current booked count. The 2026 participating list names 1stMILE, ABRO Industries Inc., Advanced Clutch Technology and aFe Power among racing and performance companies.

The current floor also adds a Powersports/Side-by-Side (SxS)/Lifestyle Section. Category and company names are more reliable planning anchors than applying the prior-edition total to 2026.

Can the 2026 directory support a counted target list?

The published 2026 participating list groups Racing & Performance (305), Trucks, SUVs & Off-Road (268), and Tools & Equipment (213). These three sections alone contain 786 entries in the April 8 list; that is a category subtotal, not the entire show. The same list names 1stMILE, ABRO Industries Inc. and Advanced Clutch Technology.

SEMA's app searches by exhibitor name, product category, section or location, making those categories usable as a first pass for account research.

Where are SEMA education and builder announcements scheduled?

The 2026 schedule lists 65 sessions under SEMA, 20 under SCRS and 36 under I-CAR. FutureTech presenter Matt Trainham and hot rod panelists Rick Love and Chip Foose are named in the current program. The floor also hosts SEMA Collision Repair Stage and SEMA FutureTech Studio.

Battle of the Builders announces finalists at 1:30 pm Tuesday, 3:00 pm Wednesday and 3:30 pm Thursday. The 2026 Bike Builder Shootout adds a motorcycle class.

How do announced SEMA sessions fit within floor hours?

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each have a 9:00am - 5:00pm hall span; Friday runs 9:00am - 4:00pm. Those windows total 31 hours. A 1:30 pm Tuesday builder announcement falls 4.5 hours after opening, while the 3:00 pm Wednesday announcement falls 6 hours after opening. SEMA Industry Honors is scheduled for Thursday, November 5.

Use the program-to-floor timing worksheet.

What does the 2025 SEMA audience show about 2026 fit?

The latest completed SEMA Show reported more than 153,000 attendees from 140 countries and regions, plus 2,500 members of the global media. Those numbers describe 2025, not a registered 2026 audience. The 2026 Powersports/Side-by-Side (SxS)/Lifestyle Section provides a current product-area signal for exhibitors assessing fit.

The prior report also counted 2,300 exhibiting brands. It does not establish a current percentage of retail buyers, distributors or shop owners.

How large was the first-time exhibitor segment in 2025?

The 2025 SEMA Show counted 500 first-time exhibitors among 2,300 exhibiting brands. Dividing 500 by 2,300 gives about 21.7% of brands new to that edition, a useful prior-year clue for prospect discovery rather than a 2026 forecast. The current list also adds a Powersports/Side-by-Side (SxS)/Lifestyle Section.

See the first-time exhibitor calculation.

What can the 2026 SEMA Show app actually do?

The official SEMA Show app lets users Find exhibitors by name, product category, Show section or location. Its Scan New Products & Feature Vehicles function is for product and vehicle information, not the exhibitor's badge lead list. The attendee guide separately calls the New Products Showcase feature Product Scanner.

Those distinctions prevent a planning mistake: searching a booth, saving a product and capturing an attendee conversation are three different tasks in the same show environment.

Where does the planner stop and XPress Leads begin?

SEMA's app can Find exhibitors by name, product category, Show section or location. The contracted XPress Leads App Package serves a different role: it can Easily scan badges to capture lead contact and demographic details. Its exhibitor portal gives access to the captured lead list.

The planner helps identify booths and products; XPress Leads records badge contacts. An exhibitor still needs a process that connects a recorded contact to the actual commercial question discussed.

What are the published booth rates and space penalties?

SEMA lists member space at $24.95 per net square foot. Nonmembers pay $39.95 per net square foot. A 100-square-foot linear footprint therefore starts at $2,495 or $3,995 before build and services. Island space adds $4,500; peninsula space adds $1,500. Both premiums materially change the starting space budget.

The published cancellation terms retain 50% of rental cost during an earlier window and 100% of rental cost after the later cutoff. Those exposure rules belong in the budget beside freight, staff and travel.

How many staff hours does four-day booth coverage require?

A one-person booth staffed across all SEMA hours covers three 9:00am - 5:00pm days and one 9:00am - 4:00pm day. That is 31 person-hours; two people present throughout require 62 person-hours. Freeman is named in the 2026 exhibitor service manual, but that contractor role does not replace booth staffing.

Compare coverage hours with the staffing worksheet.

Which badge-capture product is contracted for SEMA 2026?

The official 2026 order form names the XPress Leads App Package and carries show code AAIW1126. The package advertises THREE activations on exhibitor devices; the organizer's exhibitor guidance also identifies Maritz as the rental provider. This is current-edition evidence, so the comparison section names XPress Leads by Maritz instead of leaving the tool unnamed.

The order form's device choices and paid options should be read separately from a team's own meeting workflow.

What data and add-ons does XPress Leads provide?

XPress Leads can Easily scan badges to capture lead contact and demographic details. The order form offers Create customized qualifiers and surveys, Add written and voice notes to lead detail, and access the exhibitor portal lead list. It also lists a $25 processing fee.

These functions make the tool more than a contact-only scanner. Its public order form does not establish an exhibitor's conversion rate, a booked-meeting outcome or an event-to-CRM opportunity record.

How does B2Brain handle a SEMA booth conversation?

At SEMA, XPress Leads documents lead contact and demographic details, customized qualifiers and surveys, and written and voice notes. B2Brain reports booth capture in under 30 seconds per conversation, with the context and next action kept alongside the contact. A rep discussing a part or vehicle application can then preserve the specific need while the person is still present.

B2Brain reports 52% Leads-to-Meeting on the floor, against an 8% industry average for post-event follow-up. That is B2Brain's internal comparison, not a SEMA result or a guarantee.

What does the three-activation package cover across four days?

The SEMA Show runs four days, November 3-6, 2026, while the XPress package advertises THREE activations on exhibitor devices. Three concurrent activations across four dates represent up to 12 device-days if used throughout; the order form also adds a $25 processing fee. The arithmetic clarifies device coverage, not total rental cost or the number of conversations captured.

Model the device-days in the planning guide.

Which conversation details matter at a SEMA booth?

The 2026 XPress form names three concrete capture layers: lead contact and demographic details, customized qualifiers and surveys, and written and voice notes. For an automotive conversation, those fields can record a vehicle platform, product category, buyer role and promised next step without treating a badge scan as proof of demand.

The exhibitor portal then holds the full lead list for export. A specific note about the application makes that exported record more useful than contact data alone.

Is a qualified-lead rate published for SEMA 2026?

As of October 16, the 2026 order form confirms lead contact and demographic details, customized qualifiers and surveys, and the exhibitor portal lead list. It does not report what share of SEMA contacts become qualified opportunities or booked meetings. The organizer's published exhibitor pages likewise do not provide a show-specific conversion denominator, so a claimed SEMA lead-quality percentage would be unsupported.

When can SEMA leads enter follow-up after the final day?

The final SEMA hall closes Friday at 9:00am - 4:00pm, while onsite badge registration ends at 7:30am - 2:00pm. XPress Leads says exhibitors can View and export your leads at any time and reach the full list through the exhibitor portal. Those features permit a same-day list handoff after a conversation; they do not by themselves document that a buyer accepted a meeting.

The follow-up record should carry the vehicle or product question and the promised next action, so the first message reflects the floor discussion.

Can published SEMA costs establish event ROI?

SEMA publishes a member space rate of $24.95 per net square foot. The nonmember rate is $39.95, with an island premium of $4,500. Those inputs establish part of the expense side. As of October 16, the reviewed sources do not supply an exhibitor's average contract value, qualified-lead rate or meeting-to-opportunity conversion. A numeric return on investment would therefore rest on invented inputs.