History
2023 – Present
Beginning in 2023, the LA Auto Show has leaned even further into its role as both a new‑car showcase and a full‑blown celebration of Los Angeles car culture. Electric and hybrid models have taken center stage across multiple indoor and outdoor test tracks, giving guests the chance to compare everything from compact EVs to trucks and SUVs in real driving conditions. At the same time, special exhibits built around custom builds, entertainment, and local communities have grown each year, turning the show into a place where you can see a world debut, take a test drive, discover new technology, and experience the broader lifestyle that has developed around cars in Southern California.
2020 – 2022
The 2020 show was cancelled due to the global pandemic, creating a rare interruption in a tradition that stretches back to 1907. When LA Auto Show returned in 2021, the focus was on welcoming people back safely and giving them a way to see, sit in, and drive new vehicles after a long stretch of virtual launches and online shopping. That year also marked the introduction of THE ZEVAS™, the show’s consumer‑voted and driven awards recognizing the most exciting zero‑emission vehicles on sale and coming soon. By 2022, indoor and outdoor test tracks, with a growing emphasis on EVs and other electrified models, had become a signature part of the experience, helping guests understand how new technology felt on the road rather than just reading about it.
2017 – 2019
Following the launch of AutoMobility LA, the show settled into a new rhythm where innovation on media and industry days flowed directly into what visitors saw on the public show floor. These years brought some of the highest concentrations of world and North American debuts in the show’s history, with crossovers and SUVs dominating the headlines and more plug‑in and fully electric models appearing in every major brand’s lineup. LA Auto Show became a must‑stop stage for both established manufacturers and new entrants, reinforcing Los Angeles as a place where future‑focused concepts and everyday vehicles share the same spotlight.
2016
The LA Auto Show’s Press & Trade Days were combined with the four‑year‑old Connected Car Expo to create AutoMobility LA, a four‑day media and industry gathering focused on the future of mobility. A new 50,000 square foot technology pavilion was built to showcase auto‑tech exhibitors, and more than 50 vehicle debuts shared the spotlight with boundary‑pushing concepts, including a 3D printed supercar and an early self‑driving shuttle.
2012-2015
As electrification and in‑car technology picked up speed, the LA Auto Show became a key launchpad for both green vehicles and connected car innovation. During these years, the show introduced dedicated tech programming on its media and industry days, bringing in startups, software companies, and telematics providers alongside global automakers. At the same time, the number of new model debuts climbed, with 2014 setting a record as EVs, hybrids, and increasingly high‑tech crossovers moved from niche stories into the mainstream.
2007- 2012
Coming out of the centennial, the LA Auto Show began to reflect a noticeable shift in what visitors wanted to see on the floor. Fuel‑efficient models, hybrids, and early battery‑electric vehicles gained more attention, and environmental performance started to matter as much as horsepower. At the same time, interest in navigation, connectivity, and in‑car entertainment grew quickly on the media and industry side of the show, laying the groundwork for the dedicated technology programming that would arrive in the following years.
2006
The show moved dates from early January to late November/early December, resulting in two shows, the second of which was celebrated as the show’s centennial, despite its 100th year actually being 2007.
1993 – Modern Era
The expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center in 1993 finally provided the show with enough space to meet the increasing needs of the now fully international, news-breaking, world-renowned exhibition.
1960’s
Continued growth, including the introduction of Japanese manufacturers, required an additional 60,000 sq ft of exhibition space to be erected at the Pan Pacific Auditorium. Presentations became more elaborate with cutaway cars and experimental future cars.
1952
The show returned to the Pan Pacific Auditorium with 152 vehicles on display, including manufacturers from England, France, Italy, as well as the U.S. The previous show held back in 1940 included no overseas manufacturers.
1950’s
After soldiers returning from the war raised the interest in European cars, the number of imports at the show climbed steadily during the 1950’s – and “International” was added to the name. By the end of the decade, 400 vehicles were on display, including models from 7 foreign countries.
1940
This was the last show before being canceled for 12 years due to WW2.
1935
Two separate shows were held this year after President Roosevelt requested that all the major auto shows move their dates from winter to the fall so that car sales would boost the economy and provide for a more cheerful Christmas season. The first was held at the Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue location, and the second one at the Pan Pacific Auditorium.
1931 – 1935
The show was held at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.
1929
On March 5th, an electrical short circuit in one of the airplane exhibits started a fire that engulfed the entire show. More than $1 million worth of vehicles were destroyed, but luckily none of the 2,500 people at the show were seriously injured. Amazingly, the show would go on; with a fleet of tow trucks provided by Southern California Auto Club, enough cars were found to assemble a new auto show, just one day later at the Shrine Auditorium.
1926 – 1930
The show was held at the corner of Hill and Washington with 120,000 sq ft of exhibit space, allowing for new kinds of vehicles including boats and airplanes.
1915
Now called the Broadway Automobile and Flower show, it took over 4 floors of a vacant department store building – two floors for automotive displays, one for competitive flower displays, and a final floor containing accessories, a café, and a ballroom. Between 1920 and 1930 the show moved four times between buildings and tents.
1910
The venue changed once again to expand the show, this time to a former field at Fiesta Park, which was converted into the show site using tents providing 80,000 sq ft of exhibit space.
1908
The second LA Auto Show moved to the basement of Hamburger’s Department store and now featured a green and white color scheme.
1907
January 21 – 27, 1907
Launched at Morley’s Skating Rink on Grand Ave., the show was formally opened by LA Mayor Arthur C. Harper at 8 pm to more than 3,000 people. It was the first show to take place on the West Coast and the largest of its kind west of Chicago with 46 manufacturers and 99 vehicles on display, including models by Maxwell, Perrless, Overland, Pope-Toledo, White, Ford, and Cadillac. The selection also featured two electric cars and one foreign car – a Darracq from France; attendance and interest were so high that the show was extended for an extra day.
