New York Auto Show postponed due to coronavirus fears
“We are taking this extraordinary step to help protect our attendees, exhibitors and all participants from the coronavirus,” Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, said in a statement. The New York area dealer group organizes the annual event.
The New York Auto Show joins a growing list of cultural and sporting events around the world that have been canceled or postponed due to the widening global pandemic. Last week, the city of Austin, Texas, canceled the South by Southwest festival after a number of tech companies declined to participate.
The New York auto show, which draws more than a million attendees each year according to its organizers, was to open to the public from April 10 to 19. But even before that, automakers had planned new car unveilings and media events.
Given that the New York show is postponed and not canceled, it is unclear what automakers will do regarding those planned events.
The New York International Auto Show is one of the biggest events on the auto industry’s annual event calendar, and its organizers claim it adds $330 million to the city’s local economy. The next big auto show is scheduled for Detroit in June.