The age of great auto shows may be ending. If it does, it won’t be because the Detroit auto show moved from winter to fall and back, or because of competition from the CES show in Las Vegas.
It’ll be because the world’s automakers wanted auto shows to return to their one-time status as local events hosted and paid for by dealers, not the megabuck international attractions they evolved into over the last 50 years.
C-suites from Munich to Detroit to Toyota City morphed quaint local sales fairs into splashy global media events, with everything from celebrity appearances to animal tricks. Dodge once drove a herd of longhorn cattle down Washington Boulevard in Detroit, for cryin’ out loud.
More: Detroit auto show to return to its January roots
A handful of lucky cities around the world — principally Detroit; Geneva; Frankfurt, Germany; Tokyo, Paris and Shanghai — played host to shows that drew throngs of executives, politicians, and entertainers, followed by huge crowds coming to see exciting new vehicles and elaborate displays and stage shows.
Headed for a crash
“The great old auto shows had new production cars and concept vehicles being revealed,” said Jamie Butters, executive editor of Automotive News. “Both of those have moved to other venues.”
The pandemic accelerated automakers’ moves away from auto shows for major vehicle unveilings. Experts said Detroit narrowly missed becoming an early global COVID-19 hotspot when the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which puts the show on, canceled the January 2020 edition in favor of a move to summer. DADA expected the next show would be an old-time spectacular in June, when crowds from around the world would spill out of Detroit’s riverfront convention center to enjoy outdoor events.
The best laid plans …
The pandemic raged. Big indoor gatherings became inconceivable. Detroit’s next full auto show didn’t happen until September 2022. When it resumed, the fabled North American International Auto Show Detroit was a shadow of the event that highlighted Michigan’s winter calendar for decades. The 2023 show wasn’t much better.
The same went for nearly all the big-time auto shows. The Frankfurt auto show, once the world’s largest, shut down and was replaced by a new tech show in Munich. The century-old Geneva show took three years off, moved from Switzerland to Qatar and didn’t resume until 2023. China and Japan bunkered down. The world’s automakers stumbled through parts shortages and waves of virus spikes.
What's next?
It all accelerated automakers’ trend away from auto shows, where competition for attention had become cutthroat and prices had skyrocketed to the point that stands with teak floors and million-dollar prices were common. Automakers switched to stand-alone events, trading audience size for the comfort of knowing their new vehicle wouldn’t be upstaged by a better one from the next company on the news conference schedule. Some vehicle unveilings became virtual online experiences.