Most Auto Shows Face Decline With Changing Industry

The rumble, glitz and promotional fanfare of the Philadelphia Auto Show is winding down now after another successful year projecting a full 10 day run of media, VIP events and public attendance at over 250,000.

At a time when the auto show business model is threatened by flat and declining US vehicle sales, the soaring labor, logistics and venue costs in major cities, and the waning appeal of the “Cars on Carpets” exhibit style for a younger audience that prefers more engagement, the Philadelphia Auto Show stands like the rock of Gibraltar.

Philadelphia has an outsized presence in the national auto marketplace because it comprises the expansive and fast growing tri-state regional market that leads the nation in many key classes of trucks, SUVs, crossovers and even super luxury and performance cars.

The 118th Philadelphia Auto Show continues to influence up to 90 percent of vehicle purchases in the region.

Paradoxically in our media crazed society … the most endangered auto shows that have felt the pain of major brand abandonment, are the high profile media oriented spectacles where some manufacturers spend up to $5 million.