There will be no New York International Auto Show for 2020

Two months ago, we reported that the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) would be rescheduled to a different date in August as the venue for the event was turned into an emergency field hospital. Now, however, things have changed as NYIAS organizers have opted to cancel the event entirely for 2020. The show was supposed to happen on April 2-5,  however, even after the rescheduling to August, the organizers still put public health and safety as a priority. With the pandemic still ongoing, the organizers have been forced to cancel one of North America’s biggest auto shows for the 2020 year. A show that houses many international brands eager to showcase their latest concepts and consumer models.

The move to cancel the event comes with motivations for public health and safety in mind. New York currently has the highest confirmed cases of COVID-19 coming in with over 371,193 cases. With such a staggering number, the Javits Convention Center, the event’s venue for the auto show, has been turned into a field hospital. This has closed it to all future events as it seeks to tackle the problem at hand. To date, there are no COVID-19 patients that have been admitted to the venue turned field hospital. The facility will remain in standby mode in case the current healthcare system cannot handle the rising amount of cases.

With the event’s cancelation means that car companies that have had plans to launch their new vehicles on the adjusted auto show dates will now have to find a new way to showcase their latest products. While the event’s cancelation is a big blow to the automotive industry, some brands have already improvised and have gone with online releases. One such brand is Hyundai with its 2021 Elantra release. Even locally, automobile manufacturers are shifting to the internet as their main way to showcase their new products. Ford and Jeep Philippines have already launched their new models via online releases. Even Geely has joined in as it too plans to formally launch the Azkarra via the internet as well.