• More than 350,000 people attended the 2023 Toronto Auto Show held in February.
• This was the third largest attendance total in the event's 50-year history.
• The event also recorded a record total for most visitors on a single day: 56,122 on Sunday, February 19.
As was evident at the Montreal show in late January, Ontario car fans were pretty glad for the return of their auto show. The mid-February Toronto Auto Show was making a return after being cancelled in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic.
The month prior, the Montreal show, though much thinner than in previous years, had welcomed close to 150,000 visitors.
In Toronto, where even fewer builders were participating, visitors were also out in force. In all, according to organizers, 350,214 people showed up at the Toronto Convention Centre to see the new models offered by those automakers who were present.
Amazingly, this actually represents the third highest total in the show's 50-year history.
The show also set some daily attendance records, including 56,122 visitors on the big Sunday of the event, January 19.
Manufacturers will have to learn from this. Fans want to see their new models, and they came out in force this year. But it’s also pretty clear that if the event doesn't get bigger next year, fewer of those fans will be back. Many of the visitors who were asked about coming back next years said they’d be willing, but it would depend on the show getting larger again.
It will be interesting to see what happens this year and next. Will some carmakers return? Will we see the other auto shows that didn’t happen in 2023, notably Vancouver and Calgary, return to the calendar in 2024?
