The Next LA Auto Show Will Happen In May 2021, Maybe
Originally scheduled for November, one of the most important auto shows in the world will now coincide with Memorial Day.
Due to reasons that don't require an explanation at this point, organizers of the Los Angeles Auto Show have officially made the decision to postpone this year's show a whole six months. Instead of opening the doors to a bunch of people to the L.A. Convention Center to look at cars in late November, it will now do it on May 21-31, 2021—provided that the pandemic situation looks somewhat better then than it does now, of course.
While the final public days of the show will coincide with Memorial Day weekend, press days will now happen May 19-20. Typically, those are the days when manufacturers make all their big reveals and—for reasons that I still have yet to understand—one of the only times you'll see automotive journalists wearing suits.
"We are appreciative for the continued support from the LA Convention Center, the City of Los Angeles and all of our automotive partners," said LA Auto Show CEO Lisa Kaz. "Memorial Day Weekend is a fantastic time for enhanced outdoor activations and product debuts. The LA weather creates exciting new opportunities for a spring show."
"We are extremely excited for the May dates of the LA Auto Show. The Memorial Day Holiday is always an important time for our dealerships. We eagerly anticipate the excitement the show creates amongst consumers, who look forward to experiencing the newest vehicles live and in-person," said LA dealers association president David Ellis.
All that being said, the event ensures that "the well-being of attendees and overall community remains the top priority of show organizers."
The LA Auto Show's new May dates put it in between the auto shows in New York and Detroit which are currently planned for early April and late June, respectively. Next year's Geneva Motor Show, meanwhile, has already been canceled as was this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
With a laundry list of automakers skipping out on big shows like Detroit and, y'know, the existence of the internet, the auto show's relevance in the modern age was waning well before COVID, if we're being perfectly honest.
Event organizers can pencil in new dates all they want but the fact of the matter is that nobody has any real idea what things will look like three months from now, let alone eight. Even if auto shows like Los Angeles do end up materializing in 2021, will the people show up?
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