Electric cars new stars of auto shows at the expense of luxury cars

In the Bavarian tradition, the last New York auto show, which was held from April 15 to 24, gave pride of place to electric vehicles.

On the other hand, luxury models, especially thermal ones, have not had a ringside seat and are promoting themselves differently.

An American context increasingly favorable to electricity

The latest edition of the New York Motor Show (NYIAS) is in line with an increasingly favorable context for electric cars. With 122 years of existence, this annual gathering has yet seen thousands of heat engines purring in Manhattan. However, after two years of absence following the COVID-19 pandemic, the NYIAS has not (really) resumed all its habits.

Various models such as the Chevrolet Silverado, the Ford F-150 pickup or the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 have thus attracted the attention of the traditional million visitors who come to admire the cars of the year. What do these four vehicles have in common? All are new creations or evolutions of existing models which have an electric motor.

It must be said that, according to Bloombergthe fleet of plug-in electric cars should have twenty million members in June 2022, against only one million in June 2016. Moreover, the media estimates that no less than one million new electric vehicles should be put into circulation each month during the second half of 2022, i.e. one every three seconds.

Luxury is missing from NYIAS

Even in the land of Uncle Sam, therefore, the electric car is gaining ground. A growing success which, according to Jesse Toprak, chief analyst of the Autonomy electric car subscription service, is in particular due to the fact that the economic model is mainly evolving towards “ mass-produced electric cars, which can be bought by anyone “. However, many new vehicles are still far from the 30,000 euro mark. Even more, according to him, even for those who have done so until now, it will become too difficult to ignore the electric car market from now on “.

If there is one that seems to be sulking in any case, it is the luxury sector. In total, no less than nine more or less upscale brands are not offering a new vehicle this year. And when names such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati or even Rolls-Royce are discreet in the United States, all eyes turn to them too. But according to Bloombergthere is another reason.

Marketing campaigns for luxury vehicles seem to be far more effective through buzz-seeking online or at private events than traditional, crowded car shows. Lamborghini thus plays a double game between intimate studio presentation and presence at the Javits Convention Center where the NYIAS is held to unveil its new Huracan Tecnica. The firm is thus taking care of its image on an American market which is still successful for it.

Source : Bloomberg