The previous few years have been difficult for any sizable events, including auto exhibitions. We might be about to experience a comeback, but for major events in Canada, that rebound may be unstable since Ford won’t be taking part in the action.
According to Automotive News Canada, such is the statement made by Ford Canada. According to a spokeswoman, corporate sponsorship of events in Canada by the Ford and Lincoln brands will expire in 2023. The language is clear for the coming year, but it’s unclear if this choice will apply through 2024 or beyond. Apart from the company discovering new ways to interact with customers as the transition to EVs was underway, no specific justification for the choice was provided.
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Motor1.com has contacted Ford for additional information on auto show participation, including possible changes in plans for US-based shows. We will update this article with new information as it becomes available.
The COVID-19 outbreak forced the cancellation of almost all significant auto shows worldwide in 2020. After numerous cancellations in 2021, there was finally some kind of normalcy in 2022. The North American International Auto Show made its debut this year with a redesigned indoor/outdoor layout and a new time slot in September rather than January. The annual Frankfurt show in Germany relocated to Munich. The most recent new vehicle debuts took place at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show, which had a pre-pandemic feel to it.
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However, before COVID hit in 2020, automakers’ interest in auto exhibitions was dwindling. The 2019 Detroit Auto Show was abandoned by a number of firms, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. Additionally, long before the New York Auto Show in 2020 was postponed, Audi declared it would not be there. SEMA has seen a decline in automotive participation even though it is not typically a hotspot for the industry.
The effectiveness of auto shows, once a key method for introducing new vehicles to the public, has been called into question in the era of high-speed internet. Many automakers now host debuts on their own terms and stream the event live online. This still reaches millions of potential customers while cutting out the costs of attending shows.