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Auto shows are dead. I’ve said it. The internet has said it. For making news, most automakers have determined that the auto show format is too expensive or not exclusive enough for their debuts.
Apart from the Koreans, the U.S.-based auto shows are a hallowed out husk of what they once were. But interestingly, in this post-COVID era, some auto shows are making a comeback. They’re just auto shows that you’ll need a passport to attend.
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Last week was the Japan Mobility Show, formerly the Tokyo Auto Show, and a lot was going on. There were new production-ready concepts from most of the Japanese automakers, and a decent amount of quirk that you’d expect from an Asian auto show. I’m still not sure how Cyber Love made it as a name.
Several automakers brought in some journalists to cover the show and attend some specific events, but I had to watch from afar. From my home, I could see the genuine excitement about an auto show that people actually seemed like they enjoyed attending, with enough news to keep people busy.
Earlier this year, I noticed something similar with the Frankfurt show, with the German automakers using the “home show” to debut new products and concepts.
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You don’t see that excitement around the U.S. shows anymore. While auto shows really aren’t strictly for making news — they’re for consumers to go see cars and hopefully buy one — news can draw people to the show and increase attendance.
Shows are often an opportunity for the automotive journalist to talk to many different brands and construct a series of stories around the companies’ new products.
The U.S. automakers have all but abandoned making news at a show. The global automakers also don’t put emphasis on foreign-market shows, like the United States, and opt for their own reveals. Those reveals, backgrounders, and first drives now often occur in other countries. That does make them more exclusive and more difficult for more outlets to cover.
While I expect that trend to continue, I didn’t expect the home shows for these brands to gain in popularity. The Japanese want to show off their stuff to the home crowd. So do the Koreans. So do the Europeans. While those shows still might not be as big and extravagant as they used to be, it’s also clear that those manufacturers see some value in showing off at an auto show.
So why haven’t the U.S. shows seen a resurgence? Yes, Hyundai and Kia have decided that the LA show is theirs to own, and the New York show sometimes gets something else that’s not Genesis, but the U.S. shows used to be the biggest newsmakers in the world. The costs to put up a big booth at an auto show and the associated fees are not insignificant, though I’m not sure
What I didn’t expect was other auto shows seeing growth. I didn’t expect to experience real FOMO (fear of missing out) on an auto show in the year of our lord 2025. And yet, here we are.
Six seven, I guess. Whatever the means. Did I use it right?