The 2020 Washington Auto Show returned to its normal mid-winter dates after a one-year change to the spring, and this year’s show once again featured the big crowds, high-profile guests, and exciting consumer displays that it has always been known for. Attendance was up sharply compared to 2019, as attendees flocked to the convention center to see more than a dozen regional reveals, including the biggest display of plug-in and alternative fuel technology vehicles in the show’s history.
The show received strong coverage in local and national press, as manufacturers brought some of their biggest and most in-demand vehicles to D.C. once again, including all-electric models like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the fuel-cell 2021 Toyota Mirai, and the plug-in hybrid Hyundai Ioniq. Cadillac and Maserati also returned to the show in 2020, doing full consumer displays of their latest models.
Camp Jeep and the Jaguar Test Drive Experience indoor rides were huge hits with attendees, as both featured lines of several dozen people during peak hours. Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in on-street test drives from Ford, Volkswagen, and Honda, along with multiple manufacturers who provided vehicles for the show’s first-ever all-electric on-street test drive display.
Once again, several of the local D.C. sports stars who participated in meet-and-greet sessions at the show drew large crowds, including Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals, and Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice. Guice also stopped by the WANADA Member Reception before his appearance on Jan. 30, interacting with guests in a more personal setting before heading downstairs to Hall B to meet the hundreds of fans who had traveled to the show to meet him.
All in all, by any metric, the 2020 Washington Auto Show was a major success, as the weather cooperated and the hard work of the show’s staff and contractors paid off in a major way. The 2021 show will be back once again in the winter, opening Jan. 29, 2021 and running through Feb. 7.
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