Stellantis Continues Snubbing North American Auto Shows

by Matt Posky

Published: January 3rd, 2024

stellantis continues snubbing north american auto shows

Stellantis pulled out of last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show and the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show, stating that it was trying to save money amid the now resolved UAW strike. It likewise announced it would be skipping CES for 2024 (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) for the same reasons.

However, it’s starting to look like the company just isn’t interested in attending the big events anymore. Reports have claimed Stellantis will continue snubbing industry shows located in North America for the foreseeable future, with the Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS) being the next on the list. Stellantis says dealers can decide if they want to make an appearance at subsequent trade events while corporate takes a pass.

“With a focus on preserving business fundamentals to mitigate the impact of a challenging automotive market in North America, Stellantis is working to optimize its marketing strategy as it relates to auto shows,” the automaker explained to Automotive News Canada on Wednesday.

“At this time, our Toronto-area dealers have agreed to fund all display and activation costs pertaining to the Toronto auto show.”

Here is Stellantis' general statement about auto shows in full:

With a focus on preserving business fundamentals to mitigate the impact of a challenging U.S. automotive market, Stellantis is working to optimize its marketing strategy as it relates to auto shows.

To be as efficient as possible in our media spend, we are evaluating participation in auto shows on a case-by-case basis, while prioritizing opportunities for consumers to experience our vehicles first-hand.

Stellantis remains committed to building products customers love, ensuring freedom of mobility for all, and becoming second to none in value creation for its employees and all other stakeholders as outlined in the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan.

This is something loads of brands have been working on. With the internet making alternative marketing strategies more feasible, many automakers have scaled back their spending on trade shows to prioritize online media campaigns. Strategic press releases can be highly effective and don’t require anywhere near the manpower or financial investment. Meanwhile, Stellantis can still have some presence at trade events because local dealers will still want to be there during the public days in an effort to bring in sales.

From Automotive News:

Stellantis’ brands as well as the Camp Jeep off-road test track will be returning to the Canadian International AutoShow, which runs Feb. 16-25 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, CIAS General Manager Jason Campbell said in a recent interview.

[The] Jeep off-road exhibit drew 26,000 people at the 2023 event, he added. “It really stole the show.”

Campbell said at least seven brands that didn’t participate in the 2023 event are returning to CIAS as the industry continues its post-pandemic recovery.

Returning brands were said to include Ford, Lincoln, Volvo, Polestar, Porsche, Infiniti and Genesis.

“There’s also six other brands that we’re set to [unveil] closer to the start of our major ticket sales period, which is end of January,” Campbell added.

Ed. note -- We've reached out to Stellantis and the Chicago Auto Show to see if Stellantis will be at next month's Chicago Auto Show. Stellantis told us they would not, on the corporate end, and referred us to the earlier statement. We have not yet heard from the Chicago Auto Show about local dealers' plans and will update if/when we hear back.

[Image: Stellantis]

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Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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3 of 31 comments

Crown on Jan 04, 2024

Mricky, sure, but GM and Ford aren't dissing the auto shows.

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- MrIcky on Jan 05, 2024
  
  CES seems to be a much bigger draw for automakers now, and the reporting from CES will hit more eyeballs. I could be wrong, that's what I'm seeing. (As an example, Marques Brownlee has 18M subscribers and can get 2M hits in 24 hours- Carwow has 8M subscribers. More people will see a car review on Marques's youtube site than will see a car review on the top 5 auto focused sites combined).
  I think GM will be hyping Ultium, I think Ford is bringing products that they've already introduced online where they control the message. Stellantis intro'd the ramcharger online. I don't think any major domestic is going to have any meaningful introductions at the car show? Even if GM and Ford go, it seems like its more because it's tradition than a focus. And like I said earlier- if you ever get to see a Jeep event where they bring their one off cars, that's their focus. That is some high quality work behind those one off jeeps that they then turn around and drive over big rocks.
  
  1
Scott on May 10, 2024

I seriously doubt that they will be in business within three years. They are phasing out popular models and not replacing them. Durango is going to disappear next. They say that the elevators don’t stop on many mid level floors at the Stelantis HQ. They have let many designers and engineers go. Pretty soon the customers will get a clue that they shouldn’t bother stopping at a Stelantis dealership!

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