Why Auto Shows May Be a Thing of the Past
Auto manufacturers are increasingly driving away from big-scale auto shows in favor of holding their own events or choosing to attend smaller, more diverse, interactive showcases.
The shift is highlighted by the large number of prominent brands that plan to skip next month’s Frankfurt auto show including: Peugeot, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, DS, Infiniti, Jeep, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Volvo.
Not surprisingly, cost is a prime mover. Participating in a big auto show equates to big bucks, and some players just don’t see the return on their investment. Consider what Ian Fletcher, principal analyst for IHS Markit, said recently:”I would question what the translation rate is between attendance on public days to transactions — I bet most customers now are happier to do research online.”
So what’s a car manufacturer to do?
Well, it looks as though “your father’s” old-time auto shows held in convention centers are being outshined by vibrant outdoor events that provide entertainment for real-world potential customers.
One such event, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, lures show-goers in by having historically significant race cars driven at high speeds by famous drivers. While the Goodwood Festival typically draws 200,000 visitors, compared to the 931,700 attendees of the Frankfurt show, Goodwood’s reach on social media is much larger. Estimates also show that it costs automakers about three times less to participate at Goodwood compared to a big auto show.
“The manufacturers are very keen to find different ways of showing their products and we’ve been part of that change,” Goodwood Festival of Speed organizer Lord March told Automotive News Europe.
Furthermore, Automakers worry that they won’t stand out in the frenzy of a traditional auto show. “The challenge is that you’ve got so many manufacturers with so many messages, it’s a violation of the communication rule No. 1, which is: be single-minded,” Roelant de Waard, head of sales and marketing at Ford of Europe said.
Automakers are increasingly holding their own events, such as the Jaguar Art of Performance tour which was held in the U.S. and UK, giving customers the chance to drive new cars. Cool.
Ford holds Go Further events where it introduces new models to media and dealers. In June, Audi brought 2,000 media and dealers to an event complete with an auto show-style display in Barcelona based around the reveal of the A8 flagship sedan.
To sum it up, an Audi spokesperson said succinctly: “It cuts out the noise of an auto show.”
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