Some very bad news for the automotive industry, as the New York Auto Show that was scheduled to take place during the third week of August has been cancelled due to the resurgence of Covid-19 cases as the virus’ Delta variant takes over.
New restrictive measures recently announced by national and local authorities in the U.S. forced organizers to cancel the event, which had been postponed from its usual slot in late April.
Here's part of the statement from New York Show president Mark Schienberg:
“As custodians of the 121-year-old New York Auto Show, we are committed to providing a safe environment for everyone including attendees, exhibitors, and the thousands of men and women who put the Show together. Over the past few weeks, and especially within the last few days, circumstances have changed making it more difficult to create an event at the high standard that we and our clients expect.
At the onset of planning for the August Show, we were increasingly excited at the prospect of hosting the event as the number of vaccinations in New York continued to climb and mask-wearing reduced the spread in the City. All signs were positive, and the Show was coming together stronger than ever, but today is a different story.”
- Mark Schienberg, New York Auto Show president
Schienberg stated as well that visitors spend an average of five hours at the show during their visit, and 72 percent of them are in the market to make a vehicle purchase in the next 12 months. “We fully appreciate and acknowledge how important auto shows are to the automakers, retail new car and truck dealers and the public alike, and we strongly believe in the future of these valuable marketing events.”
Organizers are hopeful that the auto show is able to go ahead as scheduled in its usual slot in April 2022.