North America's most important annual auto industry event, Detroit's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) is moving to June in 2020 from its current January dates in a bid to bring back some key automakers and boost the show's relevance.
The date change is part of a major refresh the show's organizers, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, or DADA, have been working on for months; when we last reported on it, NAIAS was mulling moving its dates to October.
But while scheduling the show in the fall could have set up a conflict with the Frankfurt and Paris auto shows -- the former being a major piece of Europe's auto show circuit -- DADA says moving to June will help them save money and add new features to the show.
According to Automotive News, cost savings will come from no longer having to pay overtime to the staff doing show setup over US Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Moving to June will also help NAIAS escape intense competition for attention from the media and public from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which has seen a significant uptick in automotive content in recent years.
DADA also hopes a June auto show will be enough to entice high-profile brands like Mini, Volvo, Porsche and Jaguar back to the event's Cobo Hall home.
According to a preview of an official announcement to be made tomorrow, planned new show elements include outdoor vehicle demonstrations, a food truck plaza and automaker-sponsored outdoor concerts, as depicted in the renderings seen here, originally posted to the auto show's website.
Holding NAIAS in June will also put the show closer to other auto industry events, like the Detroit Grand Prix, held every June on nearby Belle Isle, and automaker-sponsored music festivals and fireworks displays.
January 2019 will be the Detroit show's last winter occurrence before a year-and-a-half hiatus ahead of its summertime debut.
