Update 1/11/2024: It's confirmed – The North American International Auto Show will return to its former January timeframe in 2025. The show will run from January 10 - 20. There will be no show for 2024.
Rod Alberts, executive director of the Detroit Auto Show and Detroit Auto Dealers Association issued the following statement to Motor1:
"The Detroit Auto Show is pleased to announce the iconic show will return to its roots with a January 2025 debut. Our primary goal is to create an impactful auto show and showcase our great city and industry. After discussions with numerous partners, we believe a January date absolutely makes the most sense. In a constantly changing global automotive landscape, this update reflects our efforts to continue to reimagine the Detroit Auto Show while keeping an eye on what matters most – getting people excited about cars."
Once upon a time in the automotive world, the new year started with a focus on Detroit for the latest in new cars and trends. The North American International Show was a staple of the auto show circuit in January, and after a few years of floundering in late summer, it looks like a dose of winter is back on the table starting next year.
Fox2 Detroit cites "sources" saying a return to its original January timeslot is happening and that's been confirmed by show officials for 2025. As for 2024, Fox2 stated the show will still take place in mid-September but the organization has confirmed nothing is planned for this year.
The small outdoor Motor Bella event in 2021 and the full-blown 2022 and 2023 shows in Detroit didn't garner much interest from automakers. Whereas pre-pandemic shows often had all kinds of concept and new-vehicle debuts, the big news over the course of these years was the seventh-generation Mustang for 2022 and a handful of mid-cycle facelifts for 2023.
Moving back to January could pose another problem, however. CES in Las Vegas has become a popular destination for automakers to hold debuts, especially when it involves some measure of technological advancement. It's believed the shift to September was done to help offset some of this, but that timeslot also conflicts with IAA Munich, the big show in Germany held later in the month.
