{"id":30063,"date":"2022-11-16T12:02:40","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T16:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=30063"},"modified":"2023-01-12T22:40:31","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T02:40:31","slug":"la-auto-show-preview-evs-startups-mandates-and-off-road-porsches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/la-auto-show-preview-evs-startups-mandates-and-off-road-porsches","title":{"rendered":"LA Auto Show preview: EVs, startups, mandates and off-road Porsches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 In an age of diminished auto shows, this week\u2019s Los Angeles Auto Show may be the most prominent. And not just because of the city\u2019s perfect, 70-degree November weather.<\/p>\n

Automotive media once flocked to Detroit every January as automakers debuted the first vehicles of a new model year. But as the industry shifts to electric vehicle production, this year\u2019s November 18-27 Los Angeles Auto Show \u2014 opening with media previews Thursday \u2014 is the place to be as the wealthy California market boasts the nation\u2019s biggest EV share, most EV startups and toughest EV mandates as governments force a transition to battery power.<\/p>\n

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Show reveals here will be a shadow of years\u2019 past as automakers prefer exclusive settings to maximize social media engagement. But media week will boast nine new car reveals \u2013 about double that of September\u2019s Detroit Auto Show.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the shift towards electrification by 2025 and 2030, the amount of debuts that will have to come out to meet these mandates is really exciting,\u201d said LA show marketing chief David Fortin in an interview. \u201cCalifornia legislation (is) leading the nation toward a greener future. Add to that the largest car market in the U.S. \u2014 you have to add up Texas and Florida to equal California.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On Thursday, the wraps will come off new vehicles including the Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV, Fiat 500e, EV Genesis GV70 EV, Subaru Impreza and new models from Kia and VinFast. They will be joined on the show floor by a new Toyota Prius hybrid, a Volkswagen to-be-named and the Porsche 911 Dakar \u2014 each revealed off-site on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Despite the focus on electrics, the gas-fueled Porsche 911 Dakar will create buzz just as the 2024 Ford Mustang stole the show in Detroit this year.<\/p>\n

With a nod to North America\u2019s thirst for off-road vehicles \u2014 think Ford Bronco, GMC Hummer and all things Jeep \u2014 the 911 Dakar is an off-road-focused model of Porsche\u2019s iconic supercar. Tested extensively in the remote sands of Dubai and Morocco, the all-wheel-drive 911 carries a name in homage to Stuttgart\u2019s rally racing team that won the Paris-to-Dakar Rally in 1984 and 1986.<\/p>\n

To be sure, brands will be missing in Los Angeles, just as they have been at the Chicago, New York and Detroit shows earlier in the year. Audi, BMW and Mercedes are absent, as is Acura.<\/p>\n

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In their place will be startups like Vietnam\u2019s VinFast, hydrogen sportscar-maker Hyperion, Polestar, Canada\u2019s ElectraMeccanica and England\u2019s Charge Cars \u2014 automakers determined to make their mark in a market that has accounted for 42% of EV sales in the U.S. over the past 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about Silicon Valley and California making mobile devices that have been so transformative to our lives . . . it\u2019s natural that a lot of that technology would align with startup manufacturers,\u201d said Fortin. \u201cWe see so many innovative and forward-looking companies coming out of California.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an indication of the waning influence of auto shows, however, most West Coast startups will avoid the show in their backyard.<\/p>\n

The bulk of the Golden State\u2019s EV sales have been made by California-founded Tesla, which will shun the show. So will Lucid and Rivian, two other Cali-based EV startups that have rocked the EV world. Even LA startup Fisker won\u2019t exhibit here, just a year after it was the talk of the show with its new Ocean SUV EV.<\/p>\n

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As these premium brands attest, California is a prize market for luxury manufacturers. Lux chariots make up 25.2% of new car sales in California,\u00a0according to an ISeeCars study<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 second only to New Jersey with 27.9% (the national average is 17.7%).<\/p>\n

With their high cost and range limitations, EVs tend to be marketed at high-income, multi-car households in places like Tinseltown. The average transaction price of an EV nationwide in October was a pricey $58,362 (well above the average vehicle price of $46,991), according to Edmunds, up 6.8% from $54,669 a year ago.<\/p>\n

Dovetailing with upscale taste, California EV sales rose to a market share of 15.8% in the first nine months of 2022 from 9.5% in 2021. That compares to just 4.9% nationally (2.4% in 2021).<\/p>\n

Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at auto information website Edmunds.com Inc.\u00a0, said last week’s election results further illustrate the Golden State’s importance in the EV transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cLA Auto Show might not be jam-packed with headline-stealing new vehicle unveils this year, but the show\u2019s electrified focus has arguably grown in relevance for SoCal consumers given that Governor (Gavin) Newsom\u2019s win last Tuesday will likely keep California\u2019s (2035 ban on new gas cars) alive for now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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The LA Convention Center will be littered with opportunities for customers to experience new EVs when the gates open to the public Friday.<\/p>\n

Ford, Hyundai and Nissan will have indoor tracks at their displays showing off, respectively, the battery-powered F-150 Lightning, Ioniq 5, and Ariya. There will be an EV track outside so customers can jump into vehicles from multiple brands, including Chevrolet, Genesis, Kia, Volkswagen, Porsche and Vietnam\u2019s VinFast.<\/p>\n

The latter points to another LA advantage: Asian startups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pacific Rim is another one of our pillars as to why LA Auto Show is a good global platform to come to,\u201d said Fortin.<\/p>\n

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As the 911 Dakar, Impreza and Prius reveals attest, there is still plenty of interest in internal combustion engines, and LA will have activations for customers to get into them. Inside, Detroit brands will offer rides at Camp Jeep, Ford Bronco Built Wild and RAM Truck Territory \u2014 just as at the NAIAS.<\/p>\n

Outside, showgoers can get behind the wheel of vehicles from Subaru, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Ram, Toyota and VW.<\/p>\n

The Detroit show moved to September this year to introduce LA-like outdoor activations. That\u2019s not the only thing the two cities have in common. Their auto shows are integral to the rebirth of downtowns that have seen hard times.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery week there\u2019s a new restraurant opening and new crane in the sky in LA,\u201d said Fortin. \u201cWe highlight that for our out-of-town visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tinseltown and Motown are also share a passion for autos.<\/p>\n

\u201cCar culture in SoCal is beloved, so we have partnerships with Bridgestone to produce a cars-and-coffee event on the first weekend. Then we\u2019ve partnered with Formula Drift the second weekend to do drift demos with professional drivers,\u201d said Fortin. The Galpin Hall of Customs inside the convention feature will display hot rods and other exotics.<\/p>\n

The LA Show celebrates its 115th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary this year. The first show in 1907 was held in a skating rink with 99 cars. Two of them were electric.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles\u00a0\u2014 In an age of diminished auto shows, this week\u2019s Los Angeles Auto Show may be the most prominent. And not just because of the city\u2019s perfect, 70-degree November weather. Automotive media once flocked to Detroit every January as automakers debuted the first vehicles of a new model year. But as the industry shifts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30063"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30063"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30064,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30063\/revisions\/30064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}