After three years of pandemic disruption that saw postponements, downsizing and a special outdoor summer edition, the Chicago Auto Show may be hitting on all cylinders for the 2023 edition.
The annual show, which opens Saturday, has expanded back into two halls at McCormick Place, with a full roster of brands, exhibits and test tracks, hoping to draw large crowds of EV-curious and old-school car enthusiasts.
“We’re cautiously optimistic it’s going to feel like a pre-pandemic auto show,” said David Sloan, general manager of the Chicago Auto Show. “Growing back into two halls feels very good.”
The city’s last major event before the pandemic hit in March 2020, the auto show navigated social distancing restrictions, masking requirements and waves of COVID-19 variants without missing a year. In 2021, it shifted to a five-day summer edition, attracting about 100,000 visitors. Last year, the auto show returned in February with a one-hall footprint, drawing about 200,000.
Attendance projections this year are upward of 500,000, approaching pre-pandemic levels.
While the auto show is back to full size, it nonetheless reflects an auto industry in flux, with supply chain issues still roiling production, and a transition to electric vehicles — boosted by legislative incentives — gaining traction among consumers and manufacturers.
Dampened by limited inventory, auto sales fell by nearly 9% to 13.7 million vehicles last year, according to car shopping website Edmunds. EV sales bucked the trend, nearly doubling to a 5.1% share of all vehicles sold.
EV sales should get a further boost this year from the Inflation Reduction Act, signed in August by President Joe Biden, which extends the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV purchases but adds price caps and other restrictions. Biden has set the ambitious goal of having EVs reach 50% of auto sales by 2030.
This year’s auto show is all-in on EVs, with an expanded Chicago Drives Electric 100,000-square-foot test track for ride-alongs in five different brands. Several manufacturers have their own dedicated EV test tracks as well.
“The thing about EVs is, people need to experience them,” Sloan said. “The first reaction is, this thing can really accelerate. And then the second one is, it feels like a normal car. And so to have that in-vehicle experience, the show floor is very important to the automakers.”
New EVs on display include a number of offerings from legacy automakers, with price points and features that may make them more accessible for customers considering the transition from gas-powered to electric.
The sweet spot may include the first all-electric Chevy Blazer, a compact SUV due out this summer starting at $45,000. The Volkswagen ID.4 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are also among the growing ranks of small electric SUVs that may find a large following, according to Jenni Newman, editor-in-chief at Chicago-based Cars.com.
“Instead of making these EVs that are quirky looking, automakers are finally offering the equivalent of a compact SUV as an EV,” Newman said. “You’re just seeing this influx of EVs in categories that matter to people, where they actually buy cars.”
Taking a test drive may help turn the EV curious into customers, but the auto show and manufacturers are also looking to educate attendees, where questions about infrastructure, range anxiety and charging requirements still present a roadblock for some buyers.
Powering Chicago, a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134 and the Electrical Contractors’ Association, is sponsoring the EV test track and providing at least some of the answers.
“We understand that there’s a big incentive and a big push to make sure that EVs take hold in our industry,” said Elbert Walters, executive director of Powering Chicago. “In order for this technology to take hold, the infrastructure has to be installed correctly, safely. And that’s where we fit in.”
Most EV owners need to install a Level 2 charger for their home garage, which can fully recharge an EV in about five hours. Not every home is wired to handle the increased load, making a home charger installation potentially pricey.
Walters said a garage already set up for 200 amp service could cost as little as “a couple hundred dollars” to install a Level 2 charger. Homes with 100 amp service will “need to do an upgrade,” but Walters declined to offer a high-end estimate for the work.
“Unfortunately, we can’t answer that question, because every home is different,” Walters said.
One EV automaker conspicuously absent is Rivian, which is building its inaugural electric pickup truck and SUV at a converted Mitsubishi plant in downstate Normal. The EV startup manufacturer, which is struggling to ramp up production to meet demand, has yet to appear at the Chicago Auto Show.
Several other automakers have not returned since the pandemic hit, including Mazda, Mitsubishi, Volvo and Audi.
“We’d love to get a few of the brands that still aren’t back yet,” Chicago Auto Show spokesman Mark Bilek said. “And I think that will happen over the next couple of years as this inventory shortage goes away.”
NASCAR also has an exhibit in advance of its first-ever Chicago Street Race, which is set to turn Grant Park into a pop-up racecourse during July Fourth weekend.
For those not ready to make the switch to EVs, there are still a few combustion engine attractions at the auto show, including the last editions of the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger gas-powered muscle cars.
Tucked quietly in the back of the South Hall, the limited-edition Challenger Black Ghost and Charger King Daytona feature 800 horsepower Hemi engines, custom paint jobs and an unabashed throwback swagger befitting their debut — and the model’s curtain call at the Chicago Auto Show.
Only 300 of each model will be built, and then Dodge will retire both the Challenger and Charger, as it shifts its focus and production to EVs. The price tag for the last of the breed is just under $100,000.
“It’s kind of a celebration of the end of an era,” said Chris Piscitelli, a design manager at Dodge.
Launched in 1901, the Chicago Auto Show went on hiatus during World War II as auto production was curtailed, but it hasn’t missed a year since it resumed in 1950. The 114th Auto Show runs Saturday through Feb. 20 at McCormick Place. Tickets are $15 for adults.
