{"id":33706,"date":"2024-11-21T18:08:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T22:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33706"},"modified":"2024-11-21T18:08:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T22:08:17","slug":"robotaxis-test-drives-and-anchor-brands-the-la-auto-show-rolls-with-changing-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/robotaxis-test-drives-and-anchor-brands-the-la-auto-show-rolls-with-changing-times","title":{"rendered":"Robotaxis, test drives, and anchor brands: the LA Auto Show rolls with changing times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles \u2014<\/em>\u00a0Tinseltown\u2019s auto show is undergoing a transition like the Detroit and New York shows.<\/p>\n

Once a Big Top circus tent for star-studded, media luxury reveals and egghead panels on the sci-fi future of robot cars, the 2024 Los Angeles Auto Show has lost the glitter of premium European automakers \u2014 even Porsche, despite the Golden State being its biggest U.S. market.<\/p>\n

Instead, the show has gone mobile. Complementing indoor static displays, the Nov. 22-through-Dec. 1 circus has moved outdoors to the so-called City Street Drives paddock where ticket buyers can take rides on LA\u2019s sun-splashed streets in local, dealer-provided chariots from Volvo, Polestar, Tesla Cybertruck and Fiat.<\/p>\n

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2024 LA Auto Show setup: Genesis display.<\/em><\/div>\n
AutoMobility LA\/LA Auto Show 2024, AutoMobility LA\/LA Auto Show 2024<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

More significantly, the egghead dream of driverless cars has arrived. Showgoers can now hail driverless, electric Jaguar Waymo taxis, which will deliver them to the downtown LA Convention Center. Google\u2019s autonomous service covers 79 square miles of LA from downtown to the beaches of Santa Monica to Hollywood and the University of Southern California.<\/p>\n

Waymo\u2019s service \u2014 which also operates in San Francisco and Phoenix \u2014 opened Nov. 12 and is accessible via an Uber-like app. Waymo is the “Official Ride-hailing Partner” of the LA show and has a display on site.<\/p>\n

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2024 LA Auto Show setup: Camp Jeep display at Jeep stage.<\/em><\/div>\n
AutoMobility LA\/LA Auto Show 2024, AutoMobility LA\/LA Auto Show 2024<\/em><\/div>\n

Waymo\u2019s display dovetails with Electric Avenue, an outdoor, one-mile test track loop around the convention center where show attendees can jump into the latest EVs, including Lucid, VinFast, Rivian and Detroit’s own Cadillac.<\/p>\n

California is the United States\u2019 largest auto market, and the LA Convention Center has retained mainstream manufacturer displays that Detroit has lost. Like a retail mall, the convention center is anchored by big manufacturer displays, including Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and VW, as well as Ford, GM and Stellantis brands.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a surprisingly healthy show given the circumstances,\u201d said California-based Kelley Blue Book Senior Editor Jeff Glucker. \u201cThe European automakers have backed out from all North American shows even though the foot traffic has been really good. California is such an important market and EVs sell well here in part because it\u2019s the perfect climate for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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2024 LA Auto Show setup: Chevy display<\/em><\/div>\n
AutoMobility LA\/LA Auto Show 2024, AutoMobility LA\/LA Auto Show 2024<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

LA boasts a wealthy demographic attracted to EVs, and manufacturers are also keen to push their latest electrics as strict California EV mandates loom. Washington may be transitioning to a new, deregulatory Republican administration, but California is solidly blue and on course to ban new internal combustion engine sales by 2035. On its way to that goal, the state will require that 35% of new car sales be electric in the 2026 model year. Failure to meet the goal will results in substantial fines.<\/p>\n

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2024 LA Auto Show setup: Ford display<\/div>\n
AutoMobility LA\/LA Auto Show 2024, AutoMobility LA\/LA Auto Show 2024<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe are the biggest economy in the U.S., and we are leading the way in customer adoption of EVs,\u201d said David Fortin, LA Show vice president for marketing. \u201cOur market adoption is going up, and sales are good for automakers post-pandemic. Over 60% of the product on the show floor is gas-powered, so we have a healthy mix for people to shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

That includes Japanese behemoth Toyota, which has only introduced one EV (the bZ4X) into the U.S. market, given limited demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not seen a forecast by anyone \u2026 government or private, anywhere that has told us that (the California) number is achievable,\u201d Toyota Motor North America CEO Jack Hollis told media last week. \u201cDemand isn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Waymo is the official ride-hailing partner of the 2024 LA Auto Show.<\/em><\/div>\n
Waymo, Waymo<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

California leads state adoption of EVs at 27% of new car sales this year, but 55% of those are from one brand: Tesla. That dominance is down from 60% in 2023, but most automakers\u2019 EV sales are in the single digits here.<\/p>\n

Significantly, Chinese EV makers have not rushed in even as makers like BYD populate European shows. NIO, a Chinese brand that made a big splash here last decade with a promise of entering the U.S. market, is absent. Vietnamese startup Vinfast has beat the Chinese to the U.S. market and has a display in LA.<\/p>\n