After a hiatus for 2024, the Detroit Auto Show is back.
New for this year, the organizers have dropped the traditional title of NAIAS – the North American International Auto Show and with good reason, according to show Chairman Karl Zimmermann.
“We made the decision for this show and ultimately we were returning to our roots," says Zimmermann. "That is a consumer show. It's about our community. It's about our town. It's about our industry. It's about the people that design, build and sell our automated automobiles. So that's really what it is. We're returning to the traditional roots of.”
In years past the show featured dozens of new vehicle unveilings during Media Preview Days which typically lasted for two to three days.
Zimmermann says in 2025, there isn’t a single new product unveiling and Media Preview Day is just four hours.
“Before the reveal of concept cars and the process, it's all been shrunk with the ability to design these things on computers and so no longer the cycle of annual introductions. So that's a big part of it. Digital media, that's a big part of it.” Zimmermann explains.
He says the process of designing a vehicle is also different and more efficient.
Zimmermann says automakers are leaning away from big glitzy reveals in front of their competitors.
“This has been such a evolving industry, going back to its roots again over 125 years ago, and it's just part of the continual adaptation,” Zimmermann says.
The 2025 show is all about the consumer according to Zimmermann.
And so far, tickets sales are outpacing expectation.
An early indicator he says that the new direction is ultimately what consumers want.
“It's about getting the the buying public familiar with the product, getting them excited about it, getting them educated, giving us an opportunity ultimately to sell. Because if we don't sell, then the factories don’t run.”
The Detroit Auto Show opens at Huntington Place Saturday and runs through January 20th.