[Aditya]

Automobile shows have been all the rage up until this last decade. Over the years, events like the Geneva Motor Show, Frankfurt Motor Show, Tokyo Motor Show and other prominent expos have seen the unveilings and launches of many vehicles. Concept cars have been displayed and reactions of people gauged, which gave manufacturers valuable inputs on shaping the vehicles of the future.



However, now, things are different. Developments have seen these shows losing their importance. For a start, these shows were from an era when print media used to rule. Magazines and newspapers used to cover them and publish reports and images for their readers. In the digital era, with the internet ruling, car manufacturers can easily disseminate videos, pics & data of any new car all over the world in a matter of seconds. There is no need to have all the press collected at one large convention to have everything covered.



Secondly, the costs involved for manufacturers to participate in such events are immense and there's a limit to how much a carmaker can invest in a show. Logistics, floor space, conferences, celebrity endorsements etc. all cost a bomb. For the money spent, the exposure the vehicle brands get is rather limited. Only a handful of people visit a motor show. In the era of cost cutting, participating in a motor show just doesn't have a high enough return on investment for many manufacturers.





Companies seem to have noticed this and after making an impact initially, they prefer to avoid participating. For instance, in 2020, big brands such as Honda, BMW, Toyota, Audi, Volkswagen, Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Jaguar Land Rover, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj, Honda two-wheelers, Royal Enfield, TVS Motors and Ashok Leyland among others skipped the Auto Expo.

At a motor show, carmakers hold press conferences and unveil a vehicle every 30-60 minutes. Therefore, each car that is unveiled, gets just about 30 minutes of fame. Press personnel rush from one pavilion to another after an unveil or launch. 45 minutes after the unveil, there will be no one at the pavilion. Some cars may not be returned to at all. To address the issue, many manufacturers now prefer to host their own private events a few days before the main expo. This way, they ensure that their cars get the undivided attention of the media.

For those looking to check out a car for the purpose of purchase, motor shows aren't a great option. They are held only in one or two cities in a country, which means people have to travel to these cities and in the process, spend on air travel and accommodation.



Such shows may be held outside the city and require long commutes. This makes the entire process of visiting such shows tedious, expensive and time consuming.



Further, the general-admission days at the show are a mess. There are big crowds and one can't get the time required to spend checking out a car he or she is interested in. Besides, many vehicles are kept locked. Therefore, it makes very little sense for those looking to buy a car to visit a motor show. It's advisable and convenient to visit a nearby showroom and get a good long look at a vehicle instead. A showroom will give you a test drive as well.



Enthusiasts too face the problems mentioned above. The huge crowds will be a big put-off. Besides, they may have to stand in a long queue to have just a brief look at the real crowd-pullers on display. That can be disheartening.



In European countries, vehicles and automobile products are less romanticized than they once were. This is because of rising concerns about climate change. People are making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. With fewer people being attracted to the shows, manufacturers see no point in participating in them.



In 2015 the Frankfurt Motor Show saw 9,31,000 visitors. While in 2017, that number dropped to 8,10,000 people, and finally just 5,60,000 visitors in 2019. These figures clearly show the declining interest people have in motor shows.



As a result, all over the world, either car manufacturers are skipping motor shows or downsizing their pavilions significantly. These shows are outdated and in their twilight years. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic will be one of the final nails in the coffin. Just last month, the organizers of the Tokyo Motor Show were forced to cancel this year's event. Many others are expected to follow suit. Potential car buyers are using the internet for vehicle information, while the lockdowns put in place around the world are turning more people towards online conferencing. Video conferences and webinars are becoming the new normal and carmakers have already taken advantage of this for their launch events.


Image source: Lulop

Back in 2018, Dr. Herbert Diess, Chairman of Volkswagen stated, "Motor shows are dead" at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He went on to say, "They are a product of the 1960s and they are not as relevant anymore. They’re not delivering what we want and they’re not delivering what car buyers want." He believes that there may not be a future for traditional motor shows, with events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed and off-site stand-alone exhibitions taking their place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_-kIy-ER_k

[Rehaan]

Covid is certainly the final nail in the coffin here!

In fact, when we were at the Auto Expo last year (Feb 2020), the Covid fear had just begun, and so as not to scare the crowds away a few manufacturers sent out press releases saying that none of their Chinese representatives would be present at their stalls.


Personally I do think car shows have a lot of advantages, and I do have a lot of great memories from Auto Shows:

• Seeing incredible pinnacles of automotive accomplishment all together (Ferrari Enzo, Mercedes SLR, Carrera GT, Maserati MC12) at the New York Motorshow ~2004.

• Seeing, touching and examining the Huayra soon after it was unveiled in Geneva, while Horacio Pagani stood around chatting casually just a few feet away.

• Talking to people who have been instrumental in creating these vehicles, and know them better than anyone else.

• Seeing painstakingly made cut-aways and demo units that you wouldn't be able to find at any dealership.

• Being there in the flesh for iconic unveils (eg. Nano!) or the creation of other such memories. Do see this thread on nostalgic pictures from past auto expos!

• Noticing the finer details that no virtual experience or 3D walk-around would let you.

• And of course the convenience of viewing so many cars in one-shot, rather than having to visit 25 different dealerships!

That said, I do love the idea of auto-shows becoming more like the Goodwood festival. Focused more on creating an experience for car enthusiasts, rather than generating press coverage.

Maybe auto shows aren't dead per se, but their business model is about to be entirely reinvented...

[landcruiser123]

Auto shows/expos went grew too much and accumulated too much flab. There is still no replacement to touching/feeling a product.

I feel like we’ll have smaller events and more focus of reviews going forward.

[TrackDay]

Yes, to me they do make a big deal. But maybe not much for the manufacturers who want to get worth every penny spent. For them, they can get better reach and gain independent attention going the online route (social media/YouTube etc.). The whole point for a layman like me is seeing all those machines in the flesh. It is like going to the carnival - yes I have to stand in line, some rides might have longer lines etc. But in the end, those who love cars will keep going to these auto expos.

From an economic stand point I don't know how much feasible these things are. For instance I have been to aviation fairs/expo in the Middle East where I could enter everything from a Boeing 777, C17 Globemaster to even a Gulfstream G650. Am I going to buy any of them ? Well definitely not, but it is a joy to be around and inside those planes. The same emotion holds true for cars. I hope manufacturers do retain their participation in these shows.

[a4anurag]

I want the regular Auto Expo's to happen.

It may not be feasible for the manufacturers from a financial standpoint but as a customer, the feeling/connection that I get when one witness the cars/bikes live is a different feel altogether and no HD streaming can match it. I am speaking in the broad sense as not all the visitors will turn into customers for those manufacturers advertising at the Expo. I know COVID has killed this trend worldwide and all Car/Bike Expo would be conducted on the online stream but that excitement of booking the tickets for the Expo, travel, accommodation, applying for leave at work etc will be lost.

This is just asking an artist (painting) to work on a laptop and do the showcasing online rather than physical exhibition which helps artists a lot more as they develop that connect.

It may sound silly but I always wanted to visit the Auto Expo held in Delhi but never got that chance to visit. It was always through magazines in the initial days and later on through Team-BHP on the laptop.

[BlackPearl]

I have voted yes. For me, nothing beats the experience of a physical interaction, be it an auto expo or a retail store. I would only avoid visiting if I know that the place is not hygienic, if there is a parking problem, if it is extremely crowded or maybe it is boring like grocery shopping! Only thing I don't like about auto expos is the models posing beside the cars; real enthusiasts do not need to be lured to see the cars.

[FourWheelDrift]

My vote is YES. Physical auto expos make sense.

I'll extend my YES to physical showrooms too, since there are efforts by auto OEMs to do away with them and have virtual showrooms instead.

Until vehicles don't become virtual, auto shows and auto showrooms shouldn't become virtual !

Can any of us fully appreciate a vehicle by viewing it virtually, even using the most advanced AR / VR gear and studio ?

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[Dr.Abhi]

For us auto enthuthiasts, auto shows are one of the ways to enjoy various concept vehicles, launches, emerging new technologies under one roof. Overall environment/ambience of an auto show give me same adrenaline rush which other people experience on joy rides.
In one of my auto expo visits, I happened to come across Hormazd Sorabjee, editor ACI and that was nirvana moment for me. All in all, for us automobile freaks, these auto expos are like yearly pilgrimage which we wait for the whole year.
From OEM point of view, the expenses associated with auto expo are definately high and the medis coverage it gets is highly diluted.
So yes, auto expos will definately be things of past in say 10-15 years and we will tell about them to our grand children similarly we tell our children about non AC car travelling.

[lsjey]

While I voted Yes, it is a qualified yes. Let me explain. There can never be a clear this or that. It'll be always this and that.

As in other places like office meetings, it'll be a hybrid approach that will be successful.

My guess is that motor shows also will have both a physical and digital/virtual presentations. It will provide local flavor as well as international participation....

Regards,
lsjey

[octane_100]

I would love to still have Auto Shows and visit one while they are still being held, but frankly don't think they are relevant anymore. Most of the companies were already sitting on the fence and the pandemic would have just eased their decision making.

[VKumar]

To me, Auto Expo any way never made sense, particularly for 2 reasons:

• The products we have are hardly shown there, the brands which interests us, mostly decide to not participate
• The products they showcase, hardly any of them hit the roads. I don't give a damn to the concept or the imagination of designers, show me what you are launching and we are good to go.

Effectively, what they do, it can be done digitally too, and better invest on a good set of digital marketing campaign than the floor space.

[V.Narayan]

Auto Expos like Aviation airshows became a cash spinning business for the organizers in preference to being a forum for OEMs to display their wares and industry professionals to meet. Net net they became greedy. And the number of these shows became too many.

Eventually auto expos will re-emerge after they re-invent themselves to serve the needs of the OEMs and the visitors and place those above the needs of the organizers and significantly tune down those costs.

Allow me to draw a parallel from my old industry -aviation. 30 years back we had mainly three shows a year for general aviation in USA, for business aviation in Geneva and for military and commercial aviation in Paris/Farnborough in alternate years. Then every one and his flying duck jumped in on the band wagon and we started having a dozen or more each year plus a frenzy to be at each. At one point I took the decision that we won't put up a stall at any of these and just visit the one at Geneva set up our business meetings in the city hotels and capture the business benefit of everyone being at the same place at the same time and save ourselves a lot of costs and time for effectively the same commercial return.

[vinya_jag]

How about cancelling the olympics in Tokyo. Everyone runs in their personal tracks, upload their best times, and then winners can be declared.
How about cancelling all marriages in Halls. Everyone gets married and air them on Facebook live, and then receive Amazon vouchers.

I just hope, the world opens up soon. And this is all just a stop gap

[warrioraks]

Auto expos make all the sense in this world. One of those places which brings the child out of me. The only other place that does this to me is Decathlon. I digress.

Coming back - for the aam-junta interested in cars and bikes, auto expos are practically the kumbh melas (bad example in recent times, I know) for automotive salvation.

It might have stopped making commercial sense from a manufacturer’s point of view and that is where they need to re-plan and strategise better.

But till the time we continue to have an auto expo once in only two years, it will always make sense for me to take a day off and add to the footfall.

Voted Yes!

[Tgo]

It never made sense to me. I have never been to one either.

The only way they succeeded was in holding up the launches till the day of the expo thus creating the hype and being secretive about everything. With dashcams and spy shots of practically everything available much before that

I would prefer reading the detailed report from automobile journalists which paints the right picture rather than investing time and money to go to the stands only to see the crowds and an opportunity to not go close or sit in the cars on display.