Column: L.A. show reflects indecision for an industry that's in transition

LOS ANGELES — This is a peculiar auto show here in the City of Angels — arguably the hottest electric vehicle market in the U.S. — which seems appropriate given the peculiar state of the EV in the United States in late 2023.

Are EV sales rising or falling? It depends somewhat on how you slice it.

Registrations of new EVs in the U.S. are up about 60 percent this year, but their share of total light-vehicle sales has been estimated to be declining in recent months. I suspect this is partially a reflection of increased production for Japanese brands that have few EVs to offer.

Here in the largest city in the state that by far leads the U.S. in EV adoption, the auto show starred Lucid's long-awaited Gravity electric crossover and Toyota's redesigned Camry that will be offered only as a hybrid starting with the 2025 model year. (The stalwart sedan may not be the top-selling non-pickup it once was, but Toyota's U.S. dealers still sell almost as many new Camrys in a week as Lucid EVs that will be delivered this year.)

So is this a green show or not? Other key reveals included the Hyundai Santa Fe, which has a turbo hybrid option, and the Subaru Forester, which doesn't yet.

One thing about this auto show: It most certainly is an auto show, with all of the disappointment that comes with that territory these days. Stellantis, which has helped carry auto shows in recent years, pulled out suddenly as part of a marketing contraction blamed on the UAW strike. But that's just the most recent headline.

Porsche abandoned its long-held spot near-but-not-in West Hall. (That space is now home to the Kevin Hart Kollection.) The Camry was on display, but Toyota revealed it earlier in the week in Malibu, and the company didn't hold a press conference at the convention center.

Cadillac confirmed that it will offer the Optiq electric crossover as a more affordable alternative to the Lyriq, but the brand didn't even have a stand in Los Angeles. Among General Motors' four U.S. brands, only Chevrolet had a display.

L.A. was once arguably the most important luxury auto show this side of Monterey.

Now? Not so much.

Lexus, Acura, Genesis and Lucid are the only luxury brands on the floors. And it isn't just Porsche. Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, JLR — all gone, long before this year.

And yet, the halls didn't necessarily feel so empty as might be expected after the sudden withdrawal of Stellantis.

Hollywood-caliber staging elevated the reveals. Ford borrowed its Detroit trick of using big blue curtains to prevent big bare walls from making the space depressing. With Stellantis out, Ford expanded to fill more than 100,000 square feet of space, including a track with a man-made mountain and ample room for every model in its lineup.

One sign in Toyota's sprawling stand reads: "More space means more memories." If that's accurate, Toyota may never forget this show. It has almost 50,000 square feet of display space, including for some of its Olympics and Special Olympics activities, such as wheelchair basketball.

It's no secret that many brands are reevaluating how they participate in auto shows, particularly for vehicle reveals.

Subaru is not one of them. The company has many new models coming, including seven more EVs over the next several years. Because its stand includes an elevated space, Subaru didn't have to recraft the display for a reveal and then tear it down before the public showed up.

The company has also invested in building a particularly pleasant environment that replicates a forest setting, with gentle lighting, nature sounds, benches and of course lovable doggies available for petting or adopting. Subaru believes the stand keeps visitors lingering a bit longer than they might in other brands' display spaces.

The automaker's U.S. President Jeff Walters said that Subaru is happy with its setup — both for reveals and for public days. "Leveraging and using these big auto shows," he told me, "will continue to be a part of our strategy."

Subaru along with Hyundai and Stellantis, have been the most loyal participants in the biggest U.S. auto shows since the pandemic. Whether other brands return in the coming years remains to be seen.