Los Angeles Auto Show Pushed Back To May 2021: Report

The COVID-19 outbreak has been canceling or postponing auto shows left and right, and it seems the Los Angeles Auto Show is no exception. Citing "three people familiar with the show's planning," Automotive News claims the L.A. event originally programmed to take place in the second half of November has been rescheduled for May 21-31, 2021. It is believed an official announcement from the show's organizers confirming the new dates could come as early as this week.

If the event due to take place in the City of Angels will indeed move to May next year, it means it'll be sandwiched between the New York Auto Show due in April and the Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS) in June. As AN points out, it would be quite tricky for car manufacturers to decide where to unveil their shiny new models considering there will be three major auto shows in a three-month timeframe rather than the usual seven-month window in a regular year.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, organizers of the shows in New York and Detroit had no other way but to cancel the events, which is the same thing we can say about the Paris Motor Show. It had been scheduled for early October, but it's not happening anymore. As far as the Beijing Motor Show is concerned, it was supposed to take place in April and has been pushed back to the end of September. At the moment of writing, the show in China is still happening, from September 26 until October 5.

With the vast majority of auto shows canceled or rescheduled, automakers have decided to organize their own reveal events. Most of them are taking place exclusively online, hence why Motor1.com is publishing more livestreams than usual. A relevant example is the Mercedes S-Class W223 debuting in the coming hours, with the Jeep Grand Wagoneer concept and Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid set for an online-only premiere tomorrow.