North American International Auto Show


The Detroit Auto Show, formerly known as the North American International Auto Show, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan. Hosted at Huntington Place since 1965, it is among the largest auto shows in North America, and is widely regarded as one of the automotive industry's most important events.
The show is organized by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, and has been held annually in January for much of its recent history. It is usually open to the general public for 1–2 weeks, preceded by previews for industry employees and media, and a black-tie "charity preview" fundraiser for local children's charities.

History

In 1899, William E. Metzger helped organize the Detroit Auto Show, only the second of its kind, after the 1898 Paris Auto Show. An auto show was held in Detroit in 1907 at Beller's Beer Garden at Riverside Park and since then annually except 1941–1953. During the show's first decades of existence it portrayed only a regional focus. In 1957 international carmakers exhibited for the first time.
In 1987, the DADA proposed that the show become international. The members of the DADA went to places such as Europe and Japan in the attempt to convince those unveiling their new brands or vehicles in those countries to bring those unveilings to the North American Auto Show. That attempt proved to be successful; the North American Auto Show was then renamed the North American International Auto Show in 1989. The NAIAS was the first auto show in the United States sanctioned by the OICA.
Since 1965, the show has been held at Huntington Place, where it occupies nearly of floor space. Prior to being held at Huntington Place, the show was held at other well-known places in the Metro Detroit area, including the Light Guard Armory, Wayne Gardens pavilion, and Michigan State Fairgrounds.
Record attendance was in 2003, with 838,066 attendees. In 2009, attendance was 650,517. In 2016, there were 815,575 in ticketed attendance, after reaching 803,451 in 2015. In 2004 and 2005, the charity preview attracted 17,500 people at $400 a ticket and raised $7 million in total. Over 800,000 attended during the days the show was open to the general public in 2018; it is estimated that the show generates a revenue of over $500 million to the local economy.
Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz were not present at the 2019 edition, following recent absences of other luxury manufacturers like Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo.
In 2018, plans were made to move the show from January to June beginning in 2020, in hopes of attracting more visitors and adding outdoor events, with plans for an "auto plaza" around Woodward and Jefferson avenues, in addition to the indoor exhibition at TCF Center. An outdoor festival known as "Motor Bella" was to precede the show, which would showcase European supercars. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which TCF Center was used as a field hospital by FEMA.
In 2020, plans were made to move the 2021 show from June to late September due to the continued pandemic. However, the 2021 edition was also canceled. The NAIAS organizers held Motor Bella at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan as a partial replacement, which was an outdoor enthusiast event running from September 21–26. Executive director Rod Alberts stated that "we cannot ignore the major disruptions caused by the pandemic and the impact it has had on budgets. As such, we will be providing an amazing experience to the media, the auto industry and the public in a cost-effective way."
For the 2022 and 2023 editions, the show returned to downtown Detroit and was held in September. With the 2025 edition, the show returned to January, and was rebranded again as the Detroit Auto Show.

Editions

2026

The 2026 public show ran from January 17–25, with media and industry events on the 14th and 15th, and charity preview on the 16th.

2025

In 2025, the show was moved back to its previous January timeframe; as a result, no show was held in 2024. The 2025 public show ran from January 11–20, with the media and charity previews held on the 10th, the latter featuring a performance by Flo Rida.
Like in 2023, the 2025 show was held entirely indoors at Huntington Place. Ford, General Motors, Kia, Stellantis, Toyota, and Volkswagen returned as full exhibitors; and BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Ineos, Mazda, and Mercedes-Benz were represented by exhibits organized by local dealerships, with Ineos making their first Detroit Auto Show appearance. High-end and exotic vehicles were exhibited in The Gallery, a separate section also programmed by local dealers.
The 2025 show included four test tracks on the show floor: the returning Powering Michigan EV Experience, featuring electric vehicles from BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Rivian ; the new Detroit Grand Prix Track, with electric and gasoline-powered electric vehicles from Buick, Ford, Honda, Mazda, and Volkswagen; and the returning Ford Bronco Built Wild Experience and Camp Jeep off-road courses in their manufacturers' respective exhibits.
The 2025 show featured few vehicle introductions, in part due to the decline in popularity of auto shows in North America, and in part due to conflicting with the Consumer Electronics Show, where several concept and production vehicles were introduced along with vehicle interior technology and concepts were showcased. The only new vehicles shown were from Ford, who revealed the Mustang RTR prototype and Mustang GTD Spirit of America edition in a separate press conference before the event on January 9.

Production car introductions

The 2023 public show ran from September 16–24, with the media preview on the 13th and charity preview on the 15th. Notably, its run coincided with the beginning of the 2023 United Auto Workers strike, which targeted Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, the show's three largest exhibitors. The UAW held a rally outside Huntington Place on the evening of the charity preview, but did not picket the event or call for a consumer boycott of the show.
For 2023, the show returned to its previous all-indoor format. All three Detroit-based automakers exhibited, joined by Kia, Toyota, and Volkswagen. Subaru declined to return for the 2023 show, while Honda and Hyundai were represented in exhibits organized by their Detroit-area dealerships. Like in 2022, non-participating automakers were represented by smaller displays of their automobiles in a separate section of the show floor.
The 2023 show introduced the Powering Michigan EV Experience, a large indoor test track at the rear of the show floor, on which attendees rode in new electric vehicles from GM, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, and Tesla. The track included a 300-foot acceleration strip, and a serpentine course to demonstrate the vehicles' handling. The separate Ford and Jeep off-road demonstration courses, as well as the Ram truck course, returned from the 2022 show. Tesla's participation in the EV Experience marked the company's first NAIAS appearance since 2015.

Production car introductions

In 2022, the full NAIAS returned to Huntington Place, with the public show running from September 17–25, preceded by the media preview on the 14th and the charity preview on the 16th. The media preview was visited by then-U.S. President Joe Biden, and the charity preview featured a performance by Nile Rodgers & Chic.
The 2022 edition featured a redesigned layout, with the main exhibits indoors on the show floor at Huntington Place, and other supporting events outdoors in nearby Hart Plaza. Stellantis, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, and Subaru were the only automakers with major exhibits on the convention floor, while Volkswagen had a smaller display in the lobby of Huntington Place. In recognition of Jeep ducking, Stellantis rented the World's Largest Rubber Duck for the show, which stood in the plaza outside Huntington Place. Many non-participating automakers, such as Nissan, Hyundai, and Mercedes-Benz, were represented by new vehicles on display on the convention floor, but without a branded exhibit.
Returning from Motor Bella were interactive test tracks on the show floor, offering rides in Ford and Stellantis vehicles, included with show admission. Ford's track featured an acceleration strip, used to demonstrate the F-150 Lightning, and a large hill, showcasing the Bronco's off-road capabilities. Stellantis operated two tracks: Camp Jeep, an off-road course featuring the Jeep Wrangler, Gladiator, and Grand Cherokee; and a second demonstration course featuring Ram pickup trucks.

Production car introductions

The 2023 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year semi-finalists were announced and displayed at the show, with the winners to be announced in January 2023.

2021: Motor Bella

Plans for the full NAIAS to return in September 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In lieu, the show's organizers hosted an outdoor event, Motor Bella, at the M-1 Concourse in nearby Pontiac from September 21–26.

Production car introductions

The 2020 show was scheduled to be held from June 13–20 but it was canceled in March 2020 due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

2019

The 2019 show ran from January 19–27 at Cobo Center and opened with the lowering of a 2020 Shelby GT500 from the Cobo Center ceiling. 30 cars launched in the previews, down from 69 in 2018. Among various cars, it displayed new versions of the Kia Soul. Other major attractions included the 2020 Shelby GT500. USA Today noted that Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Jeep and Toyota were all re-introducing discontinued models at the show with the media previews, for example the Toyota GR Supra and midsize Ford Ranger. Virtual reality displays were utilized by several carmakers. A number of protests took place outside the event regarding Ford's environmental record and GM layoffs.
  • January 12 – Gallery
  • January 14–15 – Press preview
  • January 14–17 – Automobili-D
  • January 16–17 – Industry preview
  • January 18 – Charity preview
  • January 19–27 – Open to public