The Los Angeles Auto Show, like just about all other trade shows and consumer events, was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Normally, the show is held at the end of November in the City of Angels.
Despite efforts to reschedule it at some point, the 2020 edition never happened. Back in February, we learned that show organizers had set new dates for this year, and those dates have just been made official: the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show will open its doors to the public between November 19-28 at the LA Convention Center. Media and industry days will take place on November 17 and 18.
If the pandemic situation continues to improve in North America, we will be there.
The organizers are pretty optimistic that will be so; they’re aiming to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the show, which will host a wide variety of more exotic brands this year, such as Lucid, Karma and Fisker, alongside the more traditional banners.
However, we're still waiting for the full list of participants; it still hasn't been published on the show's official website. In the past, there have been some big premieres in Los Angeles, such as the debut of the latest generation of the Porsche 911. But the pandemic has of course compelled automakers to make online presentations, and for the most part these have been successful. Given that the cost is significantly less for one of those than a more traditional presentation, some companies may decide to bypass auto shows going forward. In any event, organizers are promising a complete list of participating manufacturers will be published soon. We can then speculate on what they plan to present.
In the meantime, the press release issued by the organizers gives us an idea of the excitement:
“We are proud to be an integral part of LA culture and a must-attend event on the calendar. With California and LA County opening up, we're committed to delivering a knock-out show to give SoCal an experience to look forward to and a dynamic environment for automakers and lifestyle brands to inform and entertain in.”
- Lisa Kaz, owner and CEO of the Los Angeles Auto Show
There’s also the question of what health-related measures will remain in place at this stage of the pandemic, if any. Time will tell, but the 2021 Chicago Auto Show opens July 15 and it will certainly give us an idea of what to expect at future shows.
