The last wintertime edition of the Detroit Auto Show (or North American International Auto Show, NAIAS for short), took place back in January 2019. Organizers then decided to move the event on the calendar to June in the hopes of boosting attendance, the weather in Michigan being quite a bit more welcoming at that time of the year,
The first summertime NAIAS was to have taken place this past June, but the coronavirus decided otherwise. The event was postponed for a year, until summer 2021.
Now, organizers of the show have just announced it will be pushed back again, and will take place between September 28 and October 9, 2021.
In addition, the event’s organizers booked that period of the year for the next three years, thus for 2021, 2022 and 2023. The decision might seem surprising but it makes a lot of sense given that the Los Angeles Auto Show has been rescheduled for May 2021. That would have meant holding the three largest American auto shows in rapid succession (the third, in New York, will take place in April 2021).
This decision to move the NAIAS to September gives companies that participate in all of them soon room to breathe.
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Fortunately, those participants will benefit from the generally nice weather in Detroit at that time of year. The outdoor events planned for the June show can still take place with the new dates.
“September is an excellent time of year for new product, and at the same time, alleviates the challenges a now crowded spring auto show calendar presents for auto show stakeholders.”
- Rod Alberts, NAIAS Executive Director
The big question mark remains how the pandemic will play out over the next year, of course. But assuming that the situation improves by next fall, the new schedule could actually be a very advantageous one for the Detroit Auto Show as it takes place right in the period when manufacturers are debuting new products.
