Going Home Again: Detroit Auto Show Returns to January

by Tim Healey

Published: January 11th, 2024

going home again detroit auto show returns to january

After a brief flirtation with warmer-weather months, the North American International Auto Show, also known as the Detroit Auto Show, is returning to a January date.

This will start in 2025, with the charity preview taking place on January 10th next year and the show closing to the public on Jan. 20. Based on that timing, I expect the media days to take place on the 8th and 9th.

It's unclear if there will still be a 2024 show during the late summer. Our guess would be that there won't be -- budgets and planning will simply shift towards 2025. It doesn't seem realistic to expect a show in September and another show following so soon.

The move to summer was initially meant to take advantage of outdoor spaces in downtown Detroit. In fact, the plan to move outside was announced well before COVID impacted large events, with a target month of June. The pandemic forced some bouncing around, including a one-time move to the suburbs.

There is an advantage to hosting the show during warm weather -- it's easier to do test drives without dealing with slushy roads, and spaces like Hart Plaza can be used for vehicle unveils against a scenic skyline backdrop. Oh, and sun-tanned Californians with large platforms won't complain about the cold -- and to be fair, us Midwesterners who drive over won't kvetch about navigating 94 during snow storms.

On the flip side, summer is a time when there are a lot more entertainment options, so it can be harder to convince the paying public to head to the convention center.

And it's the paying public that matters. The Detroit Area Dealer Association isn't putting on the show solely for the media, and the automakers aren't spending millions so us keyboard warriors can cover the event. The public days matter the most, the media days just follow.

Either way, we hope to be there to bring you all the news next January.

[Image: North American International Auto Show]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 16 comments

Tassos on Jan 12, 2024

Oh, yeah. Smart move, Geniuses of the Detroit Show.

Move it back to January.

Imagine if it was already moved and the show started today.

We are expected to get SEVEN bloody inches of Snow, and at the most inconvenient time, just before the weekend, at 4 PM.

If 10 people saw the show in June, and if there is any brains in their head, ONE of the ten ONLY will see it in Jan.

PS after the 7 inches snow, it will get MUCH colder, Monday it will be below 10 F.

1 Reply
Lorenzo on Jan 12, 2024

It's not the carmakers' show, it's the car DEALERS' show. It's in January - indoors - to show what the local dealers have and will have for sale during the year, basically one big advertisement for Detroit auto dealers.

It got turned into a showpiece by and for the automakers, but they don't need it anymore, since the annual new model "reveal" is long gone, and people can get information by other means.

There's still the experience of seeing the cars available in person, and dealers can provide information on options and financing, instead of the junkets for the press that the automakers had, and speeches by chief engineers and designers.

For prospective paying customers, going back to dealer-oriented auto shows is better for the local business of selling cars, and much better for the public looking or planning to buy a car. Ego-centric automaker executives and auto writers will be hard-hit, though.

2 Reply

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