Are automotive launch occasions nonetheless related in 2024?

From Alfa Romeo’s first mainstream electrical automobile to BMW’s all-new IX3 SUV, alongside extra reasonably priced autos just like the Citroen e-C3, 2024’s automotive calendar is already full of eagerly anticipated launch dates and automobile unveilings. With the scarcity of semiconductors, manufacturing occasions have been a lot slower, leading to a backlog of recent fashions ready to be introduced. So, the automotive trade is about for an thrilling however fiercely aggressive yr forward. Standing out because the mannequin of the yr might be extraordinarily powerful, and types might want to pull out all of the stops.

Auto reveals and automobile launch occasions have historically been the yr’s spotlight for automobile fanatics. Manufacturers invite media, followers, dealerships and different essential stakeholders to extremely produced and sometimes glamorous occasions to make sure their newest machines begin life with loads of consideration. However at present, with social media, new applied sciences, and an unlimited digital ecosystem at their fingertips, there are a plethora of touchpoints out there for manufacturers to attach with the audiences they want.

That begs the query: are launch occasions nonetheless related at present? And the way can they be tailored for the fashionable age?

1886 to 2024: The evolution of automobile launch occasions

Launch occasions have been a part of the automotive trade for the reason that starting, when Karl Benz revealed the world’s first automobile—the three-wheeled Benz Patent-Motorwagen—to the general public on 3 July 1886. Unveiled on the Ringstrasse in Mannheim, Benz publicly drove the automobile for the primary time, reaching a prime pace of 10mph. A little bit underwhelming by at present’s requirements, however actually revolutionary on the time. Benz set the stage for the launch occasions to return over the following one and a half centuries, a few of which helped to propel automobile fashions into phenomenal and long-lasting successes.

Though COVID-19 restrictions have since been lifted, its influence on how automobile producers deliver new fashions to market has been long-lasting

In April 1964, then-Chief Government Henry Ford II debuted the Ford Mustang on the largest exhibit of the New York World’s Honest. Nearly 22,000 Mustangs had been snapped up instantly by consumers, and Ford went on to promote greater than 400,000 inside its first yr of manufacturing. The Mustang was solidified as one of the iconic vehicles of the 20th century.

Fifty-two years later, Tesla loved the same expertise when unveiling its Mannequin 3. With a launch occasion to rival the likes of Apple and Samsung, 325,000 pre-orders had been made inside its first week, reportedly essentially the most profitable product launch ever. The Mannequin 3 went on to develop into the all-time bestselling plug-in electrical automobile worldwide.

As new applied sciences emerged, the 2010s noticed manufacturers embed spectacular digital components into their automobile launch reveals. In 2017, the revealing occasion for the Volkswagen Polo made cool use of augmented actuality (AR) on-stage, utilizing an invisible display to create 3D imagery across the automobile on show.

Then, the pandemic. All bodily occasions had been shut down, and so the likes of Audi, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz needed to reveal new automobile fashions to the media and the general public by way of on-line streams and social media. Though COVID-19 restrictions have since been lifted, its influence on how automobile producers deliver new fashions to market has been long-lasting. Behaviours have shifted; e-commerce has skyrocketed with no indicators of reverting, and journalists have develop into used to receiving the data they want at their desks. Now, manufacturers can deliver vehicles to audiences by way of digital avenues alone, streaming displays straight into folks’s houses.

Developments in AR and digital actuality (VR) applied sciences additionally create much more alternatives for audiences to expertise vehicles remotely. Final yr, for instance, Ford experimented with a digital launch for its new Explorer. The model created a digital world wherein audiences may ‘take a look at drive’ the automobile from their very own gadgets, with European advertising director Peter Zillig calling the innovation a “one-of-a-kind alternative for us to create significant connections with potential prospects”.

The position of launch occasions at present

The advantages of launching a automobile through digital channels are obvious; manufacturers can obtain wider attain at decrease value. Nonetheless, digital media lacks the spectacle and bodily expertise of an in-person occasion. Driving a automobile is a extremely bodily and immersive expertise by nature. From the texture of the steering wheel in your palms and the view of the highway forward to the scent of leather-based seats and the sound of the engine, virtually your entire senses are engaged. That have can’t but be precisely replicated by way of a digital medium.

At launch occasions, audiences can contact the automobile, get inside it, and discover its options from all angles. As one of the costly purchases most individuals will make in a number of years, customers need to know they’re getting the most effective product for his or her cash.

Manufacturers also can drive an emotional reference to that automobile way more simply in individual than they’ll digitally, and with such fierce competitors this yr, robust model connections might be extra essential than ever. Occasions are all about connecting face-to-face and constructing significant relationships. They’re a robust method to unite communities and consumers, present optimistic experiences, and create life-long model advocates.

From Henry Ford II to Tesla’s Elon Musk, there are additionally alternatives for firm leaders to take to the stage and humanise the model, or for workers to talk to attendees immediately and handle any considerations. That is particularly necessary when launching electrical vehicles, which many customers nonetheless view with trepidation.

Tesla’s Cybertruck occasions in 2019 and 2023 present the ability occasions nonetheless maintain for automotive manufacturers. Each occasions acquired intensive press protection, and in response to Chief Government Musk, Tesla acquired over 250,000 reservations for the apocalypse-ready automobile inside per week of unveiling it. Following the 2023 supply occasion in November final yr, that determine reportedly reached two million. For Tesla, model advocacy is every part; these occasions are one in all its most important instruments.

Finally, few different merchandise have such a pure affinity with launch occasions as vehicles. At the same time as customers more and more shift to on-line buying, vehicles stay one of many few merchandise they need to strive in individual earlier than shopping for. A current survey by JudgeService discovered that solely round one in ten UK buyers plan to purchase a automobile solely by way of a digital course of, with the overwhelming majority eager to go to a bodily dealership showroom in some unspecified time in the future in the course of the buy course of.

The way forward for automobile launch occasions

So, are automotive launch occasions nonetheless related at present? Completely. The truth is, they’ve by no means been extra essential to face out among the many sea of recent vehicles as a consequence of hit the roads this yr. Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply they don’t must evolve. Future occasions must mix the ability of digital and in-person experiences to drive that essential emotional connection whereas securing mass attain.

That may imply live-streaming an in-person occasion. The Cybertruck supply occasion was streamed on X (previously Twitter); with its punky underground venue and excited crowd, the occasion completely embodied the automobile’s model whereas reaching thousands and thousands of individuals of their houses. Alternatively, it may imply creating AR and VR experiences to enhance an occasion and immerse those that couldn’t attend.

Undoubtedly, the pandemic revealed many classes concerning the worth of digital media for automotive manufacturers. Nonetheless, the trade should not neglect the techniques it used to promote vehicles efficiently over the various years that got here earlier than.

By Jennifer Davidson, Founding father of Smooth Occasions