Now the New York Motor Show falls victim to Coronavirus

The New York Motor Show, due to take place in April, is the latest victim of the Coronavirus outbreak. It’s now rescheduled for August.

We’ve already seen the Geneva Motor Show cancelled as Coronavirus fears grip Europe, and the Beijing Motor Show has been ‘postponed’ as China battles with its virus outbreak.

Now, to no one’s great surprise, the organisers of the New York Motor Show have decided they too need to take action as Coronavisrus continues to spread in the US, but rather than cancelling the show, as Geneva organisers have, they’ve decided it will instead be postponed until August, by which time we’ll all either all be dead or wondering what all the fuss was about.

Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, said:
We are taking this extraordinary step to help protect our attendees, exhibitors and all participants from the coronavirus.

For 120 years, ‘the show must go on’ has been heavily embedded in our DNA, and while the decision to move the show dates didn’t come easy, our top priority remains with the health and well-being of all those involved in this historic event. We have already been in communication with many of our exhibitors and partners and are confident that the new dates for the 2020 Show will make for another successful event.

It’s an understandable reaction from the organisers, but it does run the risk of car makers finally realising that traditional car shows have very little value in an age dominated by online reveals.