2021 Detroit motor show cancelled

[AVANTI R5]

2021 Detroit motor show cancelled

Organisers of America’s biggest auto show set their sights on smaller outdoor event instead

Organisers of the Detroit motor show have confirmed the annual event will not take place in 2021 due to ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) officials confirmed today that the 2021 Detroit motor show had been cancelled and merged into a smaller six-day event to be known as Motor Bella.

Held entirely outdoors, Motor Bella is set to take place in September as “a bridge to the future” of the NAIAS, according to a statement by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which runs the Motown show.

Citing the impact of the coronavirus, NAIAS executive director Rod Alberts said the decision to move the event outdoors heralded a more festival-like direction for NAIAS, with performance and tech displays in place of regular static stands.


“We cannot ignore the major disruptions caused by the pandemic and the impact it has had on budgets,” he said.


“As such, we will be providing an amazing experience to the media, the auto industry and the public in a cost-effective way.

“The pandemic has caused changes in our society and world in ways not previously imagined, and we all should be looking for new and highly creative ways of doing business. This new event captures that creative spirit.

“It will provide new mobility experiences and increasingly innovative approaches to tapping into the industry and its products.”

Motor Bella was originally intended to be a standalone event for British and Italian supercars and classic cars, held alongside the Detroit motor show.

NAIAS organisers aren’t yet discussing which car-makers will and won’t be attending the Motor Bella event, held at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan.

Motor Bella will run September 21 to 26, with general public access opening on September 23.

The amended location and dates come as yet another blow to the humble motor show, following forced cancellation of other international events in 2020 including the Beijing, Geneva, New York and Frankfurt motor shows.

Organisers of the Geneva motor show, traditionally held in early March, have confirmed the event has not only been cancelled again in 2021, but scrapped altogether and put up for sale.

As it stands, the Detroit motor show hasn’t taken place since January 2019.

Following 2019, organisers planned to reschedule the annual show to the northern hemisphere summer, with last year’s event meant to open in June before COVID-19 forced its cancellation.

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[oichan]

Makes sense.

[subyski]

Prior to Covid, there were some manufacturers foregoing Auto Shows in favor of private events to debut vehicles or just picking and choosing select Auto Shows to participate in. Do Auto Shows have a long term future? It seems like a lot buzz is generated online now with "planned" leaks and renders that makes debuts less exciting.

[White out]

They've been talking about this for years. Looks like they either had the outdoor NAIAS on the same schedule as the mid-engined Corvette (so an ETA of 2060) and they were forced to go outdoor due to covid regulations . . . or they have terrible marketing.

[Pre]

just make auto shows an app on the phone for the milnils. Will work like gang busters

[Sid03SVT]

Could do a virtual event with reveals & talks on a set schedule; every manufacturer sets up a pseudo booth at their location, streams to a webpage, "visitors" can click through each manufacturer, and watch the reveals on a live schedule or watch archived reveals later.

[AVANTI R5]

Guess city council or whoever does budget dislike these Show cancellations. These event types are life line for revenue everything from tips, parking, restaurants, hotels and a lot I don't even know about.

[subyski]

Sure they don't like it. The auto show organizers pay the city that owns the convention centers. An empty building costs them money.

[AVANTI R5]

What's the future status of the Motor City's biggest yearly event?

2020 was a terrible year for auto shows. One after another, international events like Geneva, New York, and the Goodwood Festival of Speed were forced to cancel because of the pandemic. Attempts to reschedule ultimately proved futile. But the New Year has arrived and auto show organizers are desperate to get back up and running. Unfortunately, it could be a slow process.

Earlier this week, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, the organizers of the Detroit Auto Show, announced the 2021 show, already rescheduled from June to September, will not happen in its original format. Instead, the show has been renamed Motor Bella and will move from the TCF Center in downtown Detroit to a racetrack venue called the M1 Concourse in nearby Pontiac, Michigan. Rebranded as more of a luxury event that'll take place entirely outdoors, many have been rightly concerned this will become the permanent plan. Not so.

The Detroit Free Press reports the show's organizers have promised Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan that Motor Bella will only be a stopgap event. Duggan said he received a guarantee from the Detroit Three automakers they will support this year's toned-down event, but only with "an unequivocal commitment for the auto show to be back downtown next year."

Even so, it's far too early to know how big the 2022 show will be. Organizers made the right decision to scale down the 2021 show because it seems unlikely the pandemic will be under control by September, and there's no promise it will be in 2022. Still, the guarantee received by Duggan is an excellent start because big auto shows, in general, are facing an existential threat.

They're a huge expense for automakers who are increasingly utilizing creative online methods to unveil new vehicles for a fraction of the price. Cities like Detroit stand to lose the most. Its yearly show typically draws around 800,000 visitors to the city who then spend money at local restaurants and hotels. It's great for local economies but automakers see things differently. In past years, the Detroit Three used the show for major reveals.

The last time Detroit was held, in 2019, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Cadillac XT6, and the Ram Heavy Duty all debuted. Even the reborn Toyota Supra was unveiled. It'd be a shame for future big unveilings to take place at smaller events or, even worse, exclusively online.

[White out]

Wait a minute. I heard something brewing about a goodwood-style event at M1 a while ago. Maybe this is that event but it's using the NAIAS as backing/promotion.

[arghx7]

the question is, will cancelled car shows create a pent-up demand, or will they just get people into the habit of learning about new cars online? It's the same question people are having about movie theatres. Certainly live music I can see having pent up demand and coming back very strong once the pandemic is over (likely 2022 at this rate). I'd say some of these car shows won't survive at all.

[AVANTI R5]

They cancelled Dayton Hamfest..it's biggest Ham Show in the world.

[AVANTI R5]

Originally Posted by subyski

Sure they don't like it. The auto show organizers pay the city that owns the convention centers. An empty building costs them money.

Detroit Mayor Wants Big Three To Commit To Having NAIAS In Motor City Next

The North American International Auto Show has been cancelled for the second year in a row, but it’s not all bad news as the event is being reborn as Motor Bella for 2021.

It’s set to take place at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan this September. Given the continuing pandemic, Motor Bella will be an outdoor event that is smaller in scale than the North American International Auto Show and only open to the public from September 23-26.

The change isn’t sitting well with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who is apparently afraid the Motor City could lose the North American International Auto Show to Pontiac. According to The Detroit News, Duggan reached out to officials at the Big Three and sought commitments to hosting the event in Detroit moving forward.

During a press conference, Duggan said: “Ford, GM and FCA have all made an absolutely solid commitment that they will not be supporting anything in Pontiac this year unless there’s an unequivocal commitment for the auto show to be back downtown next year.” This puts pressure on organizers to return to Detroit, but they’re not ready to commit yet.

NAIAS Executive Director Rod Alberts told the paper: “NAIAS is currently holding future dates with TCF Center from 2022 through 2026. We remain optimistic and hopeful that we could host an auto show in Detroit in the future.” While that’s noncommittal, Alberts said they have received a “great deal of interest and support” for this year’s Motor Bella.

Duggan is obviously concerned about the future of the event, but he acknowledged “auto dealers were in a position where it was impossible to hold an auto show this year.” As a result, he gets why a smaller event is being held in Pontiac.

The North American International Auto Show has seen declining automaker attendance for years and has been overshadowed by CES as well as the Los Angeles and New York Auto Shows. While a move to summer – and now September – was supposed to fix that, it left an opening for the rival Southeast Michigan Auto Show to host an event the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

[subyski]

CES has been a disruptor too. Vehicles are being more tech focused than ever. Auto Shows tend to be more looks, specs, and maybe sit-ins. But so much tech requires experiencing it, that you can't do in an Auto Show. Sometimes, the people at the Auto don't like it when you open the hood or actual know anything about the vehicle.

[AVANTI R5]

Oh yeah..back around 2004/05..I was going to the CES love it..It was good time too..Meet up friends from far away obviously you don't see often. Go out for dinner etc . Good time. Same with SEMA. When at these shows the atmosphere is different then say Big North American Car Show. Feels Like your at museum, you know what I mean. But as stated, this was problem Pre Pandemic. Pandemic just made it worse faster. Another thing as a Whole. With all these electric models coming out. I don't think the clientele is like the old motor heads. They would go to show see new 426 shoe horned in a Jeep. Just don't see Tesla week at Hershey (for you west coasters) it's biggest car meets in country,Ithink

[arghx7]

Tesla was at the Detroit auto show for a few years after the Model S came out. I remember sitting in it and marveling at the big center screen because it was such a new concept. I remember it being a pretty popular display.