Motor shows: Where are they now?

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Since 2008, the traditional motor show has been buffeted by changes in consumer attention and tastes, economic realities and a pandemic. Events that had been staples for new vehicle launches and anchors on automotive calendars for decades became the victim of a global recession, changes in available marketing platforms, the availability of more directly targeted marketing, the fracture of consumer interests and audiences, and rising costs for the motor show itself.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic created disruption through canceled events and changes in timing — further changing the landscape for reaching consumers.

In March 2020, the Geneva Motor Show pivoted to an online, livestream-only event with only 72-hours' notice to exhibitors and attendees. From 2020 through 2022, motor shows were sparsely attended, canceled, or their timing was changed. Alternatives for communication with consumers and media nascent before the pandemic became quickly advanced.

Today, new-car reveals continue to be a priority, but automakers now use a broader mix of press and consumer platforms, and the motor show has lost its role as the automatic go-to space.

Are traditional motor shows truly over?

There is hope in the upcoming Paris Motor Show in October 2024, which will have a reasonably impressive list of exhibitors. Details on the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2024 are still thin, but the schedule for the Detroit Auto Show in January 2025 shows a sharply reduced media event schedule and low expectations, despite returning to its traditional January date.

A good year now for a traditional motor show may mean seeing five to seven all-new models. But in past years, key international shows often claimed more than 50 new car reveals.

While excitement around a show brings people in and feeds a positive narrative, the negativity around shows and cutbacks in displays does the opposite, feeding the idea that traditional shows have become irrelevant and reducing attendance. For consumers, fewer brands on display reduces interest to attend.

The absence of ultra-premium and performance carmakers has also dealt a blow to traditional shows. Ultraluxury brands prefer to spend their marketing budgets on high-prestige events like the recent Monterey show in California or the Goodwood live demonstration show in the UK, while some OEMs have reallocated their show budgets to motorsport programs.

The world-famous Geneva Motor Show will not be held in 2025, and there are no plans to resurrect it. The Geneva Show first took place in 1909 and existed as one of the key global motor shows where it was de rigueur to launch new models. Geneva had a sense of neutrality that was not the case with the alternating Frankfurt and Paris shows, which tended to be dominated by the German and French OEMs respectively in terms of presence, spend and launches. In Geneva, any major global OEM could stage a major model launch with almost guaranteed publicity.

Geneva, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Detroit formed the quintet of major, globally important motor shows. These became a place where car enthusiasts could get up close to the latest models and enjoy their passion and maybe make a decision on their next car.

However, the ultra-premium performance brands re-focusing on more exclusive and targeted events also served a bitter blow to Geneva, which had always prided itself on attracting major world premieres from the likes of Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini. Without these glamorous halo brands the show became a whole lot less attractive to the general public.

As a result, it looks as though we have seen the very last Geneva Motor Show. Frankfurt has transitioned to the IAA Mobility Show; it is much smaller in scope, but has a clear theme and purpose (sustainability, over and above simply zero emissions). Detroit has returned to its traditional January calendar slot, but that move may be too late. Though Paris' improved line-up for 2024 offers some hope for the traditional motor show, the writing is on the wall unless they evolve with the times and offer more entertainment and interaction for a younger audience.

Focus may be the answer

While the traditional show has struggled, we are seeing events like the UK's Goodwood Festival of Speed and California's Monterey Car Week serving as background for an increasing number of targeted introductions. These are high-profile examples of highly targeted events.

Goodwood is a very good example of how marketing spend on the traditional motor show has changed. The Goodwood Festival of Speed was conceived by British aristocrat Lord March who first held the event in 1993. In 2010, Goodwood capitalized on an opportunity created by the cancellation of the British International Motor Show and introduced the Moving Motor Show.

The Goodwood Moving Motor Show created a chance for buyers to test cars on the course. Manufacturer involvement in the event has since snowballed, but it tends to be ultra-premium high-performance OEMs that are most involved such as Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Aston Martin, while premium brands like BMW, Audi and Mercedes and Alpine are also very present with their performance models. Rolls Royce's presence is always guaranteed due to the proximity of the brand's factory to Goodwood House. In 2024, MG, Polestar, Ineos Automotive, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Ford were among the automakers using the backdrop to make news.

The Monterey Car Week has more organic roots; its key events include the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at the storied Laguna Seca racetrack, where owners of historic cars put the cars through their paces in exhibition races; The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, which focuses on performance luxury brands and celebrating motorsports history; and the signature event, the Pebble Beach Concours d 'Elegance. The Pebble Beach event is a judging of historic cars but has grown to include displays of concept and modern cars on the edges of the event as well.

In 2024, Acura used the event again to reveal a concept for an all-new battery electric vehicle (BEV), Maserati showed off a new sports car, Lincoln revealed its Navigator SUV, and Mercedes Maybach and AMG brands had significant presence and new cars.

Yet, the decision for several automakers to rejoin the Paris show suggests there is news coming which is better suited to the traditional motor show environment, even if that environment proves to be scaled back from their heyday.

The effort to be more interactive is not new for show organizers striving to maintain relevance. The needs to reduce cost and increase share of voice are not new, either. In 2024, however, the continued growth of both Goodwood Festival and Monterey Car Week suggest that the real future may be in smaller, more focused events.

The future is in finding the right platform for the right news, with no single event able to claim it is a "must" in the automaker toolbox for vehicle introductions or for connecting with consumers.

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This article was published by S&P Global Mobility and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.