Detroit auto show moves to June to boost appeal

DETROIT—The Detroit auto show is undergoing a drastic reorganization in 2020, when it will move from the dead of winter to early June to better appeal to car shoppers—and the growing list of auto makers that have dropped out in recent years—with outdoor displays and on-road vehicle demonstrations.

The Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which puts on the show, says the changes should help auto makers save money, reducing move-in costs by 30 to 40 percent and cutting setup time to three weeks from an average of eight weeks now. One reason June would be cheaper is that exhibitors no longer would need to pay overtime around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

But whether the move can reinvigorate the show, which draws more than 800,000 attendees and is estimated to contribute nearly $500 million to the local economy, as more auto makers reveal their latest models at alternative venues is less clear. Rod Alberts, the show's executive director, thinks it can.

"We'd be foolish to not see the trending of what's going on in the industry and think we can continue to do the same thing," Alberts said in an interview. "We have to reformulate and reimagine what we need to be."

That reimagination includes moving outside the Cobo Center show floor and into more of downtown Detroit.

A presentation shared with Automotive News and Crain's Detroit Business ahead of an announcement planned for July 24, depicts auto maker-sponsored outdoor concerts and vehicle displays in the long, riverfront plaza that stretches toward General Motors' headquarters; presentation space and food trucks near a busy park in the center of the city; and test-drive courses on the convention hall's rooftop parking lot. It also shows water taxis ferrying passengers between the main show floor and events on Belle Isle, an island park in the Detroit River.

Competition from CES

Show organizers want to help auto makers better display their vehicles' technology and performance and to create an indoor-outdoor celebration in the same vein as the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in Las Vegas and Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. Alberts said he hopes to connect the auto show with other events happening that month, including the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle, the Detroit Music Festival, a GM-sponsored weekend festival called River Days and the annual Detroit fireworks show, which is sponsored by Ford.

The 2020 show will begin the week of June 8, organizers said, about a week after the Grand Prix. The structure of the show likely will change, as will the official North American International Auto Show name, although no decisions have been finalized. Press preview days likely will be condensed, and the annual Charity Preview gala could shed its black-tie formality. The 2019 show in January will retain the traditional format before a 17-month break.

"It's a complete change," Alberts said. "It's easy to kind of stay with what you've been doing for a long time and keep on moving down that path, but it's not the answer."

The show's numbers this year were strong: 809,161 visitors during the public days, a slight gain from 2017, and 5,078 credentialed journalists for 69 vehicle introductions during the press preview days.

But the event faces stiff competition from CES in Las Vegas, another January event that increasingly focuses on automotive technology, in addition to the trend of auto makers opting for more leisurely off-site reveals.

Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have said they'll skip the 2019 Detroit show. In recent years, Mazda, Mini, Volvo, Porsche, Mitsubishi, Jaguar and Land Rover have also pulled out, essentially saying the show didn't match their target audience or wasn't generating sufficient returns to justify its cost.

'An easy process'

Detroit's hometown auto makers, at least, are pleased with the switch to June.

"Reinventing NAIAS as a summertime festival of design, speed and innovation is incredibly exciting," Mark Truby, Ford's vice president of communications, said in a statement.

Tony Cervone, GM's senior vice president of global communications, said: "We applaud the DADA for thinking big and really taking advantage of this opportunity to reimagine the auto show and position Detroit in the best light."

Organizers began looking into moving the show two years ago, Alberts said. They considered each month and this year narrowed the choices to June and October. They chose the summer option, he said, because there are no other competing events and the weather will likely be more pedestrian-friendly.

"It was an easy process," Alberts said. "It just took some time."

The show has been in January to kick off auto makers' product cadence and give customers a glimpse at what's coming to dealer showrooms the rest of the year.

"As we look to break out of the traditional auto show model, there is not a need to follow the normal show season," Doug North, DADA's president, said in a statement. "The new direction and focus of the show will disrupt the normal cadence of traditional shows and create a new event unparalleled in the industry."

At the very least, there won't be snow.