Detroit Auto Show reportedly canceled due to COVID-19 complications

The 2020 Detroit Auto Show
has reportedly been canceled. According to The Detroit Free Press, the annual auto expo has been nixed because the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) has designated the TCF Center as a coronavirus field hospital site.

Formally known as the North American International Auto Show, the expo had been poised to move to June after occupying a winter time slot on the international car show circuit for decades. The reenvisioned show, which was to include a brace of outdoor activities including ride-and-drives and self-driving car displays, will instead be held in June of 2021. 

The NAIAS had been scheduled to have its media days on June 9 and 10, with public show days running June 13 to 20.

Word of NAIAS 2020’s cancellation apparently came via a memo sent Saturday from show organizers to sponsors. As of this writing, the auto show’s official website still shows a countdown to the start of this year’s event.  

According to the report, the disruption comes because FEMA has designated that the downtown Detroit-based TCF Center will be converted into a COVID-19 field hospital “for at least six months.” 

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This news follows reports from earlier this week that Manhattan’s Javits Center, home of the New York Auto Show, has already been converted into a 2,000-bed temporary hospital to house coronavirus patients. Earlier in March, it was announced that the New York show had been postponed from early April until August.

Detroit Auto Show officials did not immediately return Roadshow’s request for comment.

This story is developing…