Stellantis brands pulling out of some U.S. auto shows, including Chicago

Stellantis is pulling out of the Chicago Auto Present, which is barely a month away, that means there’ll seemingly be no presence within the Windy Metropolis for Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, or Fiat.

The transfer is a part of a cost-savings technique “to mitigate the affect of a difficult U.S. automotive market,” in keeping with a press release supplied to Hagerty by Rick Deneau, Stellantis’ head of North America communications for model and product.

“Stellantis is working to optimize its advertising technique because it pertains to auto exhibits,” the assertion learn. “To be as environment friendly as potential in our media spend, we’re evaluating participation in auto exhibits on a case-by-case foundation, whereas prioritizing alternatives for customers to expertise our autos first-hand.

“Stellantis stays dedicated to constructing merchandise clients love, guaranteeing freedom of mobility for all, and turning into second to none in worth creation for its staff and all different stakeholders as outlined within the Dare Ahead 2030 strategic plan.”

Stellantis can also be pulling out of some regional auto exhibits, says Automotive Information. That features the Houston Auto Present, which opens January 24, and the North Texas Auto Expo in Dallas, which opens February 22.

It appears seemingly that, for the quick future, participation in regional auto exhibits will likely be decided by native sellers: as an example, Stellantis manufacturers will likely be represented on the Toronto Auto Present, which opens February 16, as a result of native sellers are funding the expense.

Stellantis’ choice is a selected blow to the 116-year-old Chicago occasion, which payments itself because the nation’s largest auto present and is taken into account a significant nationwide present, not a regional one.

“Up till we obtained the unlucky information a few weeks in the past, we’ve approached the manufacturers with totally different alternatives to make their participation potential,” Mark Bilek, the present’s senior director of product administration, informed Automotive Information. “The truth is, we’ll at all times have house for them even when they determine to take part on the eleventh hour.” Amongst these manufacturers confirmed for the Chicago Auto Present: Acura, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen, per the present’s web site.

Stellantis, in its varied company guises, has been a staple of the U.S. auto present scene for many years. Producer participation has been declining at auto exhibits because the 2008 recession, as corporations seek for methods to chop prices.

“An Italian good friend used to inform me, ‘Our model doesn’t want auto exhibits. Auto exhibits want our model.’ And that’s a tricky reality to argue with,” mentioned Paul Brian, former director of communications for the Chicago Car Commerce Affiliation, which produces the Chicago Auto Present. “Apparently what we’ve witnessed over the previous few years is the ‘trickle down’ purposes of that mentality.”

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