Detroit Auto Show moves to September 2021, June event scrapped
The show, officially known as the North American International Auto Show, was meant to be this June, but then the pandemic happened.
Even before this hell-year, automakers had landed quite a few heavy blows on the auto show circuit. More and more companies are opting out of the big-city events in favor of smaller debuts where all the focus and energy is on them. Can you blame them? It's tough to share the spotlight with dozens of other debuts.
Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which squashed the remaining auto shows scheduled for 2020. That included the Detroit Auto Show, which was meant to return in a big way with a newly minted summer date and a focus on outdoor and interactive displays. All is not lost in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show, though. Organizers announced Monday the reimagined show will ditch the early summer dates and move to September starting in 2021. Specifically, the show will open on Sept. 28 and run through Oct. 9. Frankly, being in Detroit in late September and early October sounds much nicer than drudging through a muggy summer day in June.
"We have talked with many of our partners, particularly the OEMs, and they are fully on board and excited about the date change," NAIAS Executive Director Rod Alberts said in a statement.
All that changes are the dates, organizers promised. The show will still incorporate indoor and outdoor displays, "dynamic display" and ride-and-drive events as planned for the summer switch, but the hope is automakers and the public will enjoy the event more in likely milder temperatures.
Hopefully by this time next year the world looks a little more like the world we knew at the start of 2020, because we can't wait to see new cars and concept cars in the metal, rather than via a livestream conference.
