From June 6-8, the Georgian College Auto Show once again took place at the Barrie campus. This event, organized and run by students at the Automotive Business School of Canada (ABSC), has been a staple at the college for many years and is the largest outdoor auto show of its kind in North America. Autosphere Media attended and had the opportunity to speak with Neven Freyberg, Director, Marketing and Media Relations for the Georgian College Auto Show who is also a student at ASBC and one of five directors responsible for the 2025 show. 

Freyberg noted that for students, managing and running an event like this is an amazing opportunity. “The five directors are assigned the responsibility of running the show at the beginning of the school year. It’s a huge learning process and there is a lot to understand and a lot to do, but it has given us the opportunity to really flourish and there’s been a tremendous amount of support from ASBC as well as the industry.” 

Big responsibility

Freyberg said that running an event of this caliber is an enormous responsibility, given that automotive brands are trusting the students with their vehicles and their reputation but it’s one that has proven to be tremendously successful and in 2025, we witnessed the return of some OEMs that had been absent from the show for several years. 

The 2025 Georgian College Auto Show featured vehicles and displays from more than 17 OEMs, with over 130 students involved in various roles, including serving as brand ambassadors for the various manufacturers who had product on display. Besides new vehicles there were a variety of other activities, including the PFAFF Porsche Test Track, where attendees get to go for a thrill ride alongside a professional driver, plus vendor displays and a growing presence from the aftermarket sector including tire, mechanical and collision vendor booths. The aim is to provide an all-encompassing automotive experience and from what we saw, it looked like this year’s Georgian College Auto Show was a resounding success.

Freyberg said that from his perspective, it was incredibly satisfying to see the show come to fruition after months of hard work and planning, and the confidence and skills gained by the students, lay a tremendous foundation for a successful career in the automotive industry.