Back to Basics at a Very Downsized Detroit Auto Show

Once one of the most important auto shows in North America, if not the world, the annual Motor City event returned to its original January schedule after a brief summer run. But what has been renamed the Detroit Auto Show is a mere fraction of the size of what it was during its glory days. Headlight.News looks at what has happened — and why.

The name says it all. After a 35-year run as the North American International Auto Show, the Motor City event has a new name for 2025 and a decidedly different look.

In its glory days, “NAIAS” was an event the automotive world followed closely. At its peak it lived up to its name, manufacturers from around the world debuting as many as 70 unique new products before a crowd of more than 5,000 global journalists.

This time around, the newly renamed 2025 Detroit Auto Show settled for a single hometown automaker, Ford Motor Co., revealing minor variants of two products. Of the “local” manufacturers, Stellantis did have some key executives on hand to meet with reporters while General Motors, with its headquarters barely a quarter-mile away, didn’t even make that much of an effort.

But those who might think this is a peculiar situation unique to Detroit and its car show need think again.

Drumroll, please

Ford helped kick things off Thursday night by rolling out two new variants of the iconic Mustang, including a special edition of the exotic Mustang GTD, dubbed the Spirit of America, dedicated to the memory of five-time land speed recordholder Craig Breedlove.

But the official opening of the 2025 DAS came Friday morning with one of the few carryover events: the naming of the three winners of the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year, sublimely shortened to NACTOY. As has been the case since the beginning of the decade, there was a high presence of “electrified” vehicles among the nine finalists. In the end, the winners were:

• North American Car of the Year: 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid;
• North American Truck of the Year: 2025 Ford Ranger; and
• North American Utility Vehicle of the Year: 2025 Volkswagen ID Buzz

Where is everyone?

There was a reasonable turnout inside the atrium at what used to be known as Cobo Hall, now rebadged by a local financial institution as the Huntington Bank Convention Center. Once the trophies were handed out, however, the crowd notably dissipated.

In the show’s best years, the sprawling convention center would be packed to the proverbial rafters, requiring a dedicated journalist to elbow their way from news conference to news conference every 20 minutes or so. This time around, some old-timers seemed befuddled, trying to figure out where, if anywhere, to go next. The media preview, once spread out over as many as three days, began limply at 8 a.m. and wrapped up when the convention hall started dimming the floor lights just five hours later.

What if they gave an auto show and nobody came?

While the abbreviated event did give attendees a chance to catch up, extend belated holiday greetings and swap gossip, there simply weren’t many executives to track down. Nor vehicles.

Where NAIAS once offered a “Who’s Who” of global brands — even some not yet available in the U.S. — the 2025 Detroit Auto Show is notable for those not in attendance. Only 16 automakers officially have booths on the show floor and, in this case, the “domestics” came through. But foreign-owned marques like Hyundai, Nissan and Subaru fell off the list, with only Toyota, Kia and Volkswagen on the floor.

(Toyota was, in fact, a catalyst for creating NAIAS. In 1989 it came to the newly expanded event to announce the debut of its new Lexus brand. Nissan was also there, revealing the new Infiniti brand. Both luxury marques were 2025 no-shows.)

Cars on carpets

The good news, for consumers anyway, is that the dealers from a handful of “international,” like BMW, Honda, Mazda and Mercedes-Benz rolled some of their products onto the convention floor. And “floor” is the active phrase.

In its grandeur, NAIAS was a small city, complete with towering, self-contained displays where some brands, like Mercedes, were even known to fly in celebrity chefs to keep the media fed during preview days, and even during some public days.

Some brands simply had cars sitting there this year waiting for the public to kick the tires. Only a few had displays vaguely resembling past excesses. And even fewer offered media anything more than soft drinks and, if they were lucky, a muffin.

What’s behind all this?

The transition didn’t happen overnight, nor is it limited to Detroit. Auto shows, in general, have been fading for the past decade. There were only a handful of debuts in Los Angeles last November and few expected at the Chicago Auto Show next month. In recent years, both the once-massive Frankfurt and Geneva shows have been scrapped.

Certainly, high costs have been a problem, with events like those in Detroit, LA and New York costing as much as $5 million — or more — to set up a display and news conference. Add the hefty expenses that many manufacturers rang up flying in, housing, feeding and entertaining out-of-town journalists. Nissan, for one, this year dropped out as a travel and hotel sponsor for the Chicago Auto Show.

Then there’s the fact that there’s competition. The media day in Detroit came the same week as the massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — which has routinely had a higher automaker involvement since the years leading up to COVID. Honda, for example, went there to reveal its two new 0 Series battery-electric vehicles, as well as an EV it is building in a joint venture with Sony.

Digital debuts

Meanwhile, Chrysler this week debuted two new EVs it will sell using the Halcyon badge. But that introduction was entirely online.

“We’re always going to invest heavily in new vehicle launches,” said Chris Feuell, who serves as CEO of both the Chrysler and Ram brands. But, she quickly added, “social media and digital events give us a lot more options,” and often at a fraction of the cost.

Nonetheless, not everyone is ready to write off auto shows. If anything, Kia has been working to take advantage of the downsizing by stepping up its presence. Along with sibling brand Hyundai, it staged some major previews during the LA Auto Show with far less of the competition for headlines it might have faced in the past.

Plenty for consumers

While the 2025 Detroit Auto Show might seem a dud for many in the media, organizers are confident it will play well with the public. Thanks to local dealers, most mainstream brands will have at least some level of visibility at Cobo Hall. More upmarket marques will take a place at “The Gallery,” a more limited-access, concurrent event.

And, as Rod Alberts, newly retired head of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, told Headlight.News, consumers still like to “kick the tires.” Studies show shoppers tend to be far better prepared than in the past when it’s time to complete a purchase, but they also reveal that auto shows are part of the process where it’s easy to compare products from a variety of brands in a matter of minutes.

“Do they really care if journalists are well fed?” said one industry veteran, asking not to be named.

But it may matter that this year’s Detroit Auto Show features a number of indoor test tracks where, for example, motorists can test the chops of a Jeep Grand Cherokee or Ford Bronco, or get a first ride in a variety of battery-electric vehicles.

The 2025 Detroit Auto Show officially opens to the public with its annual Charity Preview on Friday, Jan. 10, though those who want more affordable tickets will have to wait until Saturday, public days continuing through Jan. 20.

There will be a variety of special events, including Industry Days, open to members of the auto world, on Wednesday, Jan. 15 and 16, as well as special forums throughout this year’s run.