Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce CEO Geoff Gwilym says there is a need to dispel the myth that when major car manufacturers closed their Australian operations the industry was in bad shape.

“What we need to understand is that our automotive manufacturing sector was only one fifth of the industry,” he said.

“The other four fifths were retail services and repairs. Nationally, the industry still employs 370,000 people and we still have 70,000 small businesses. So there is a lot of energy left in automotive.”

Related: No matter where Alan Stevens goes it always feels like home in his unique motorhome

Much of that energy will roll, literally, into Bendigo on Saturday as the VACC celebrates the 100 years since it was founded by local businessmen hoping to protect their rights by banding together with others across the state.

One hundred cars representing each of the years the VACC has operated will drive up to Bendigo from the Calder Park Raceway on the outskirts of Melbourne.

The cavalcade will include loved brands like Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and Aston Martins. Bendigonians like George Dawson will bring vintage working vehicles while Alan Stevens is bringing his 1952 Austin Loadster motorhome.

When the cavalcade arrives in town things will really hit full throttle as car lovers descend on the town hall precinct for a Show ’n Shine from noon until 4pm.

Over 200 cars, commercial vehicles, trucks and motorcycles will be showcased. Cars will literally take centre-stage, with celebrity and event patron Shane Jacobson interviewing their drivers, sharing stories and celebrating histories.

There will be food as well as entertainment for children.

Related: Paul Vellacott on his life-long love affair with Lancias

The VACC intends the event to be a way of saying thank-you to the town where the organisation was born.

For the VACC’s board, which has been in Bendigo since Thursday for centennial events, it has not been all about festivities.

On Friday the board met to set out a blueprint for the beginning of the next 100 years.

“It will be a plan for the way the VACC has to change,” Mr Gwilym said ahead of the meeting.

The board was considering ways to respond to rapid technological changes to motor vehicles and how to advise governments and members into the future.

“The rate of change is now phenomenal. Five years is now what 50 years once was. We know the trade skills people will need will be different,” Mr Gwilym said.

“We know that the way people buy and use cars will be different with ride sharing and leasing at a personal level continuing. So car ownership is going to change significantly.”

More profiles of those hitting the road for the cavalcade

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