• by Tanya Gazdik , June 3, 2021

The New York International Auto Show will return to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in August, per an announcement today by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Like most summer and fall events, it has been uncertain whether the show, rescheduled from its normal spring time frame, would be a go. As of today, show organizers are preparing for prepandemic attendance levels at the show, which runs Aug. 20-29.

“The goal is one million visitors over nine days,” Cuomo said during the press event. “One million visitors is the high number we’ve had in the past, but we believe it’s achievable because now Javits is even bigger.”

The convention center is 50% larger than it was during the last auto show held there in 2019, thanks to a 1.2 million square-foot expansion completed during the pandemic. 

The announcement reflects New Yorkers' significant progress in vaccinations and sustained reductions in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Cuomo says. 

"The annual New York International Auto Show is not just one our most beloved summer traditions, it is a great economic engine for our state," Cuomo says. ”Last year this widely popular event was cancelled due to the pandemic, but thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers in beating back COVID the show will return this year.”

Tickets go on sale June 30.

The 2021 NYIAS will include an entire floor focused on electric vehicles, with five indoor tracks giving show attendees the opportunity to experience firsthand the feeling of an all-electric vehicle.

Multiple automakers will be participating in this multibrand demonstration, along with Con Edison, New York Power Authority, Charge NY, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and a number of home, mobile, and curbside charging partners committed to consumer education and EV adoption. Seven automakers are confirmed with two more pending final approval, per a spokesperson for the show. The confirmed automakers are Chevrolet, Ford, Kia, Nissan, Polestar, Porsche and Volvo.

A 28-page study conducted by NYIAS offers a 10-year examination of the auto show’s contribution to auto sales.

Looking back over recent seasons, an average 6.8 million households nationally attend their local auto show each year, and 4.7 million of them are in-market to buy or lease a new vehicle in the next 12 months. 

“As a result of their auto show visits, these shoppers add an average of 2.5 million brands to their shopping lists while there every year,” says Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobiles Dealers Association, in the report. 

NYIAS has supplied an average of 628,000 total attendee households every year, including an average of 449,000 12-month intender households.

“No other marketing tool supplies automakers with the volume, reach, depth or impact that auto shows do,” says Christopher Stommel, president of Foresight Research, which complied the study. “And because of this, the downside penalty of brands choosing to skip shows and deploy their resources elsewhere results in significant sales potential being left on the table.”

Upwards of 6,000 journalists attend the show each year and their reports result in more than 3 billion traditional media impressions. Social media impressions generated from the show add an additional 1 billion-plus each year.