The New York International Auto Show has been cancelled for the fourth time in 18 months.
The show was due to be held this month at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, but organisers were forced to cancel the event due to the spread of the Covid-19 Delta Variant.
In a statement announcing the news the NYIAS’s organizers say their hand was forced by the growing incidences of the Delta variant, and measures recently announced by State and local officials to curb that spread.
The show is usually held in April, and can attract over 1 million visitors, but the spring 2020 event was rescheduled to August 2020 due to Covid, then put back to spring 2021, which became August 2021. Now the organisers have set a new date of April 2022, by which time they, and we, hope the world has returned to some semblance of normality.
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EVs would have been a major focus at the August event, with an entire floor of the show given over to electric vehicles, and four indoor test tracks giving visitors a chance to experience the latest zero emissions cars in action. The event would have given many showgoers their first chance to see new EV stars like the Kia EV6 up close.
“As custodians of the 121-year-old New York Auto Show, we are committed to providing a safe environment for everyone including attendees, exhibitors, and the thousands of men and women who put the Show together,” the organizers said in a statement.
“Over the past few weeks, and especially within the last few days, circumstances have changed making it more difficult to create an event at the high standard that we and our clients expect.”
Attempting to end on a positive note, the organizers claim the NYIAS will bounce back “bigger and better” when it hopefully returns in April 2022.
