Real-life motor shows are less popular following the pandemic, as online and digital previews have enabled direct access to a global audience.
It's challenging to get back into the swing of things after two years living with the pandemic, which made it seem as though the world had stopped. Employees, for example, still don’t want to return to the office and prefer working remotely. Some people are still suffering because of the long-term effects of Covid-19. And some parents have decided to stick to remote learning and virtual schooling, so they can travel the world with their kids or because they see the benefits of this system.
Meanwhile, the retail world has fully embraced the digital transformation, moving from offline to online. To be fair, some things don’t seem like they will ever go back to what was the pre-pandemic normal. Naturally, this has created unprecedented challenges, especially for smaller retailers and traditional brick-and-mortar business. But they aren’t the only ones who suffer. The car industry is also struggling to return to in-person motor shows.
According to ABC13, automakers have experimented with novel methods of launching vehicles. For instance, General Motors debuted the Chevrolet Silverado at CES, the renowned gadget show. And while French car manufacturers were present at the Paris Motor Show in October, attendees noted the absence of notable global brands.
“Renault had a very good presence,” said Mark Tisshaw, an editor at Autocar. “They had all of the Renault Group brands there, but even Stellantis with French brands Peugeot and DS. It's almost unimaginable that there'd be a Paris motor show without Citroën, but Citroën wasn't there, leaving stands to Peugeot and DS, and it was all quite condensed into quite a small space. And if it wasn't for some of the Chinese manufacturers who came over and had stands, I think it would have been a very, very quick motor show.”
If you believe that just European auto shows are attempting to resume some semblance of routine, you would be mistaken.
“In the US, the Detroit Auto Show made a similar disappointing comeback a month earlier, with few car unveils,” says ABC13. One of the attractions of the event was the unveiling of the new Ford Mustang, which will go on sale next summer.
Additionally, viewers could admire the Rolls-Royce Spectre, the Luxgen N7 and the Volvo EX90. On top of that, the Detroit Auto Show included an Air Mobility Experience, which was an area with exhibits and activities from six air mobility disruptors. One aircraft featured in this section was the ICON A5. The post-pandemic motor shows are unquestionably taking a new direction.
“Honestly, I think this is the future of shows. It's no longer just an auto show. It's a mobility show, which gives you a glimpse of all of those vehicle types, including the ones that fly,” said John George, Air Mobility Experience chief creative officer.
ABC13 also stops on the UK, where Blenheim Palace staged Salon Privé, an event that highlighted rare and expensive automobiles. Here, Slovakian company Engler debuted the Engler Desat, “a curious-looking hybrid machine that looks somewhere between a quad bike and a hyper car.”
Since motor shows went dormant, the automobile sector has undergone a significant transformation. Gearheads and car buyers have discovered the ease and pleasure of window shopping from the comfort of their couch. They also learned to enjoy virtual previews and car-buying apps. But even before the outbreak, the digital revolution had been brewing for some time. The famed Frankfurt Motor Show's turnout in 2019 was so disappointing that organizers were debating whether to permanently discontinue the event. Just for context, only 560,000 visitors attended the event in 2019 versus 931,700 in 2015.
“The absence of brands including Toyota, Renault, Peugeot, Nissan, Fiat, and Ferrari was a serious blow for the organizers, the VDA, Germany's auto industry association. On top of that, thousands of climate activists protested outside the entrance, highlighting the simmering tensions between the German car industry and the country's environmentalists,” said the Automotive News Europe in an article dated from September 2019.
From the viewpoint of a car manufacturer, these events could appear out of date, pricey, and unable to appeal to the correct consumer base. Why would a car manufacturer pay exorbitant prices for booth space, staff, and exhibits at these auto shows when they could reach a much larger consumer base with a much smaller investment? Even though the exhibitions and performances at these events aren't as extravagant as they were in the 1990s, the investments made by automakers in them haven't decreased.
“At Frankfurt, the huge halls devoted to showcase the home-town brands of Volkswagen and Daimler were estimated to cost those exhibitors upwards of $40-million each; at New York, a major automaker can spend close to $5-million for a large display exhibit. The cars are the cheapest part of it. The true costs come with hotel bills and staffing, booth installation, lighting, maintenance and getting everything safely delivered and then removed from a unionized display hall,” said The Globe and Mail.
Online previews and digital presentations, on the other hand, cost a fraction of this amount. And a global audience views them. Clearly, digital marketing is the future of the sector.
Sources: CNN, ABC13, The Globe and Mail, and Automotive News Europe
Adina Achim is a journalist with vast knowledge and experience in the luxury industry. She is passionate about luxury car brands, technological trends in the automotive industry, and exotic cars.