LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The 2019 Los Angeles auto show featured a parade of vehicle debuts, a flurry of press conferences and other events in the opening two days, along with hundreds of thousands of people eager to see new cars.
Fast forward to 2021. The Los Angeles Auto Show, the first major US auto show since the start of the pandemic, kicked off with a single day of press events, with some automakers even skipping the show.
The show illustrates how the pandemic has accelerated automakers’ shift toward the online world, as consumers buy more vehicles on the internet, though many still favor in-person visits.
The LA Auto Show opened to the public for 10 days. A smaller crowd waited for the doors of an exhibition hall to open, and visitors were spread out at convention halls.
“I would really like to see it with my own eyes instead of seeing it on the iPad all the time,” said Peter Borch, who flew from Denmark to see Fisker’s electric sport utility vehicle Ocean.
“The size is bigger than on the photo,” Borch, 52, said, saying he spent all of his pension to buy an Ocean, which will start deliveries late next year.
Dustin Haug, 47, a construction manager in Los Angeles, said, “It is nothing like seeing an actual car in person, touching, feeling.”
Also Read: Madonna will direct and co-write a film about her life and her music.
