Stellantis drops out of SEMA due to UAW strike

DETROIT—Stellantis N.V. is pulling out of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show and the Los Angeles Auto Show to cut costs during the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike.

The auto maker said Oct. 20 it is canceling its displays and presentations at the two events as part of its strike contingency plan. At SEMA, Stellantis displays under the Mopar banner.

The space that Stellantis/Mopar had reserved in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (Booth No. 44139) is now shown as "SEMA Cars & Coffee," with no explanation of what that means for the space.

Stellantis announced the moves days after saying it was canceling plans to participate in the 2024 CES tech expo in January.

The SEMA Show begins Oct. 31 in Las Vegas, and the Los Angeles show Nov. 16.

Ford Motor Co., at one time one of the largest single exhibitors at the SEMA Show, scaled back its presence this year to a relatively modest display toward the rear of the Cental Hall and a second, larger booth in the new West Hall under the Ford Performance Parts & Accessories banner.

General Motors Co., also a major exhibitor in years past, bowed out last year and has no official presence this year.

There are only two major auto makers present this year:

• Nissan North America in the West Hall; and
• Toyota Motor North America (including Lexus) in the Central Hall.

Stellantis had planned to unveil the North American version of the electric Fiat 500e during the LA show. It announced the car's 2024 return to the U.S. during the event last year.

The company's Mopar parts and accessories unit already had been teasing its reveals planned for SEMA.

During the 2022 SEMA show, Stellantis displayed an electric Charger Daytona SRT Concept muscle car, six "Last Call" 2023 Charger and Challenger special editions, and new six- and eight-cylinder Direct Connection crate engines. The automaker also created two Ram concepts and one Jeep concept for SEMA last year.

Stellantis took home numerous awards from SEMA in 2022. The Challenger was voted SEMA's Car of the Year, the Jeep Wrangler won SEMA 4x4/SUV of the Year honors, the Jeep Gladiator was honored as the SEMA Midsize Truck of the Year, and Ram won SEMA Fullsize Truck of the Year.

On Tuesday, Stellantis issued a statement saying it had abandoned its CES plans as part of "comprehensive countermeasures to mitigate financial impacts and preserve capital, and will continue to demonstrate its transformation into a mobility tech company through other means."