Major car shows have been struggling for years. But, COVID-19 may mean their ultimate demise.
"The auto show was certainly on life support already," said Jeff Schuster, lead auto analyst with consultancy LMC Automotive. "With the rolling cancellation of one show after another, the coronavirus may be speeding up their demise."
The move aimed to revitalize what long was considered one of the world's most important car shows, typically drawing over 700,000 visitors through its turnstiles while, in its heyday, as many as 70 new cars, trucks, crossovers and concepts would make their debut. The last few years saw sharp declines at NAIAS, however. What was once three hectic days of product debuts shrinking to barely five hours.
The coronavirus has hit everything from baseball games to amusement parks. But it's coming at a particularly tough time for car shows already struggling with weakening public attendance and declining industry support for much of the past decade. A major reason for Detroit's move to June was the emergence of January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as the go-to place for automakers debuting increasingly high-tech products and digital features. This year, more than a dozen staged events at CES.
There's no question "It's time for auto shows to make an adjustment," said Rod Alberts, executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which sponsors the NAIAS. "If shows learn to adapt, I think they'll stay around."
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