LAS VEGAS — The 2025 SEMA Show, a major automotive trade event in the U.S., wrapped last week featuring more than 2,300 exhibiting brands and some 160,000 attendees from 140 countries.
Running Nov. 4-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, this year’s show spotlighted 500 first-time exhibitors and a variety of new experiences on and off the show floor.
Those experiences ranged from live builds in SEMA Central to experiential features and drifting exhibitions, according to SEMA Vice President of Events Tom Gattuso, as SEMA aims to draw in younger attendees who are looking for engagement.
Many companies also time their product launches or vehicle unveilings for the SEMA Show, produced by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, to help create more of a buzz on social and traditional media. One of those companies this year was Rockford Fosgate, a leader in high-performance audio systems, which unveiled its new PUNCH Speaker Line at SEMA 2025.
“This year’s SEMA has been a special one for us,” President of Rockford Fosgate Zach Luke said. “We weren’t just there to launch new products; We were there to show what’s next for Rockford Fosgate. The response to our new PUNCH series of speakers said it all.”
Rockford Fosgate set up an almost 360-degree, 6,000-square-foot exhibition highlighting the brand’s diverse product offerings for hundreds of vehicle types, models and makes. They demoed full sound stage kits and attendees visiting the booth were able to walk through each demo and have a full rundown of each sound stage and the various products featured.
The company also welcomed Mister Cartoon to its display this year and showcased the renowned tattoo and graffiti artist’s 1963 ice cream truck, featuring a new custom look designed by Mister Cartoon. The vehicle was equipped with the brand’s state-of-the-art audio systems. Additional vehicles on display included Polaris RZRs, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a customized truck by Chris Pate, owner of Mobile Toys Inc., that showcased Rockford Fosgate’s offerings for all models and makes.
“What made the show so powerful wasn’t the crowd or the flash — it was the connection,” Luke said. “Together with our retailers, partners and fans, we created an environment where product, culture and technology came together seamlessly. The excitement around PUNCH and what it represents for our future was real.”
Other new experiences this year included a HorsePower Rodeo showcasing a mix of motorsports disciplines. Located in the Diamond Lot outside West Hall, the daily demos and stunts featured industry stars like automotive content creator Westen Champlin and professional smoke-show driver Kyle Douglas.
SPARQ partnered with HorsePower Rodeo for 145,000 combined square feet of drifting course action and featured professional drivers such as Jeff Jones and Amanda Sorensen. SPARQ is a startup based in Irvine, Calif., which debuted its device and service, SPARQ Diagnostics, pairing AI personalization to drivers based on their unique behavior and vehicles. SPARQ also offered an immersive booth, including an AI-powered vehicle diagnostics presentation.
The Urias Family for the first time brought their “Globe of Death” act to SEMA Fest, which was held the last day of the SEMA Show. The daredevil high-speed motorcycle stunts were performed inside a 16-foot-diameter steel sphere, originally built in 1912 by family patriarch Jose Urias.
SEMA Live presented by AutoZone also streamed the show globally, including the largest number of live-vehicle reveals ever captured by SEMA Live, as well as extended coverage of SEMA’s Battle of the Builders competition and outdoor action cameras covering all the stunts.
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