New York Auto Show Shifts Into August 2021
After numerous postponements led up to a cancellation in 2020, the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) is coming back for 2021 — four months later than planned. On Tuesday, organizers announced that the event would be delayed until August to take advantage of planned expansions at the Javits Center providing additional room for vendors and guests.
Scheduling during the summer also gives it the best possible chance of existing for 2021. Many are worried New York City will reenact strict health protocols over the winter that could easily stretch into April, when NYIAS normally takes place. Depending upon how strict those mandates are, any sizable indoor event could be dubbed illegal by city officials.
The upgrades should offer more options for organizers in case they need to implement social distancing. Of course, if that turns out to be unnecessary, it also increases the building’s maximum capacity by several thousand occupants and adds an opulent rooftop pavilion for the bigwigs and a cluster of new meeting rooms. There’s even a one-acre farm on the top floor to make the whole project seem greener than it actually is.
Speaking of which, the building will also be expanding its EV Test Track to give manufacturers additional opportunities to showcase their latest in exhaust-free driving products indoors. The area takes up 110,000 square feet by itself and yields an impressive seven turns, though we doubt anybody will be pushing the envelope in those corners since going off course likely means finding oneself inside a crowd of people.
Automotive trade shows have been shuffled (or canceled) throughout 2020 so it might not be in your best interest to assume NYIAS 2021 is a sure thing just yet. Detroit’s North American International Auto Show has gone from the dead of winter to June and has since settled on September for 2021. But it’s just one of many examples where organizers had to frantically play musical chairs to appease government officials or just chuck in the towel. As things currently stand, New York plans on moving forward at the Javits Center with a single press day on August 19th. Public days will begin immediately afterward, lasting until the 29th.
[Image: New York International Auto Show]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
More by Matt Posky
Comments
Join the conversation
An indoor EV track sounds very appealing until I consider the line of unwashed people waiting for test drives while interns feverishly (pun intended) decontaminate each vehicle in between runs. Yay.
It may happen on condition that New York survives 2020 elections and do not get burned down completely like Detroit and turned into war zone. And second condition is that there are no new waves of COVID. Both disasters are very likely.