{"id":23174,"date":"2018-12-12T11:17:40","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T15:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=23174"},"modified":"2018-12-12T11:17:40","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T15:17:40","slug":"auto-shows-adapt-in-a-changing-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/auto-shows-adapt-in-a-changing-landscape","title":{"rendered":"Auto shows adapt in a changing landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles \u2014<\/em>\u00a0Auto shows are dead, long live auto shows.<\/p>\n

Buffeted by the winds of change\u00a0\u2014 the electronic revolution, social media, growing global markets\u00a0\u2014\u00a0vehicle showcases like the Detroit auto show are losing influence and manufacturers. Industry insiders say traditional auto shows remain an essential part of vehicle marketing even as\u00a0they\u00a0are\u00a0viewed as just one of many tools\u00a0to amplify a vehicle’s premiere.<\/p>\n

Consider Audi, a premium automaker in Germany\u2019s Volkswagen group, and its introduction of key products two weeks ago at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Audi was one of a wave of European premium-makers that pulled out of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier\u00a0this year \u2014\u00a0a list that included BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover\u00a0and Mini Cooper.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur product cadence simply did not fit Detroit,\u201d says Audi Product Communications Director\u00a0Mark Dahncke. \u201cAuto shows have become so expensive and less relevant with the advent of the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Audi decided to show its first-ever\u00a0all-electric model\u00a0in September\u00a0at an independent media event.\u00a0The product: the e-tron SUV. The venue: the San Francisco Bay area.<\/p>\n

Audi even gave the event a theatrical name:\u00a0\u201cThe Charge.\u201d It was broadcast live worldwide via satellite, Audi MediaTV and other Internet sites.<\/p>\n

Ten weeks later, the e-tron made its auto show debut on a full Audi stand at the Los Angeles\u00a0show \u2013 just a day after Audi took advantage of hundreds of media attendees to give a sneak peek of the e-tron’s sexy sibling, the e-tron GT. Adding to the sex appeal, the GT was introduced by Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we had introduced the e-tron at an auto show, it would have been drowned out where media reveals are so tightly\u00a0clustered together,\u201d says Dahncke. \u201cWe need the ability to have an exclusive venue so we could take people and media through this very important in detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still,\u00a0the Los Angeles show, which ended Sunday, boasted a healthy 65\u00a0new-vehicle\u00a0unveils this year across a crowded\u00a0floor that included\u00a0new players like Rivian, an electric-truck maker. By contrast, the Detroit show, which saw 69 new reveals last year, will drop to about 30 this year, according to show organizers.<\/p><\/div>\n

“Big reveals will always happen at auto shows,” said Chris Paukert, a veteran\u00a0Detroit-based\u00a0auto journalist who is executive editor of Roadshow by CNET, a\u00a0California-based website. “But automakers have many more, different ways to approach things now. Honda introduced its CR-V ute at a farmers market in Detroit last winter. That was unheard of a few years ago.”<\/p>\n

Says IHS senior auto analyst Stephanie Brinley:\u00a0“Auto shows still have the advantage of being the only place that automakers can get both lots of media and a lot customers. There is still an element of maintaining relationships with the customers that you have.”<\/p>\n

\n