It’s officially off. Over the weekend, the New York motor show’s organising committee confirmed what many had suspected would be inevitable – the 2020 show has been cancelled due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Next year’s New York motor show will open to the public on April 2.
The Jacob Javits Center where the show is held annually is currently setup as a COVID-19 field hospital for up to 1000 people.
Although there are currently no patients, the centre is being left in a state of readiness in case there is a second wave of infections, and city hospitals are again overwhelmed.
“We are extremely proud of the role the Javits Center has played during this difficult time, and we understand the need for it to remain ready to serve,” Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, said in a prepared statement.
Above: The New York motor show around a century ago.
This year’s show was originally planned for April. In March, organisers moved the show to August as the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic became apparent.
With over 100,000 deaths, the USA is one of the one of the hardest hit countries. The New York City area has seen at least 30,000 people pass away due to the novel Coronavirus, and is still in the midst of a lockdown with all schools and most businesses closed.
The New York show is just the latest motor show to be cancelled due to the global pandemic.
It all started with the Geneva motor show, which was called off just days before it was due to open to the media in March.
Since then the Detroit and Paris shows, which were scheduled for June and October respectively, have also been shelved for the year.
