How Apple Changed New-Car Unveilings

The tech giant has helped transform the way auto shows run and vehicles are launched.

David Gluckman | 

Sep 20, 2024 | 5 min read

Volkswagen

The second Steve Jobs era at Apple yielded some influential and iconic products — iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, for example. Arguably, it also helped popularize the concept of the keynote as a product reveal: Get everyone in a room, sit them down, and put on a show — sometimes with a surprise "one more thing" announcement at the end.

Over the past couple of decades, auto companies have seemed to pull more and more from this playbook, evolving new-car introductions to their advantage and moving away from auto shows in the process.

Volkswagen

Car Companies Want All Eyes on Them

Auto-show media previews are often chaotic. Held a day or two prior to the doors opening to the public, these events throw international car journalists into a convention hall packed with automakers vying for their attention at every turn.

Want an espresso? Go see Volvo. Need a snack to keep you going in the afternoon? Head to the Volkswagen booth for some currywurst (a sausage dish with curry sauce; incidentally, a version is made by VW and even has a part number). But now, perhaps inspired by Apple, the big news at auto shows frequently happens outside the event-space halls.

Apple unveiled the iPhone during the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, but it famously didn't do so at the show. Instead, the company's event took place in San Francisco, not Las Vegas where most tech journalists were gathered.

Steve Jobs knew what he was doing. Walt Mossberg, tech journalism royalty, said on social media site Twitter (now X) that Jobs urged him to be present at the secretive reveal, promising that the unannounced product would "be as big as the Mac." Jobs was not wrong. Apple made the biggest news of CES without even showing up.

Volkswagen

While automakers don't generally hold top-secret events a state away from and concurrent with a major auto show, they are increasingly unveiling new products on their own time instead of at those shows.

One advantage of staging a vehicle reveal near a major auto show is that the press is already gathered in one city. No money is spent getting people there. Carmakers also avoid an imposed time limit. Auto-show press conferences usually run from 15 to 20 minutes, which is not a lot of time to recap the previous year, unveil a new model or two, and show off a concept while making grand yet vague promises about the future. Better to control the timeline and work on your own schedule.

These events often take place around a show, but they don't have to. And as much as is possible in the age of the smartphone, an automaker has the attendees' attention in this setting. It doesn't have to worry about journalists making it from the last press conference two halls away or whether another company's presentation is running over time.

The Volkswagen Group, for example, holds its own event in advance of the major German auto show. Group Night, as it's called, gives the brands in the company's portfolio a turn to present concept- and production-car debuts, with highly produced video walls as a backdrop and sometimes live performances from musicians.

Infiniti

Livestreaming Offers Automakers a Greater Reach

When COVID-19 hit and many people switched to working from home, Apple's events went remote as well. Instead of having CEO Tim Cook talk to empty chairs for two hours, though, the company recorded a bunch of segments about its new products, one presenter at a time, showcasing various settings around its corporate campus. The video was then stitched together into a product presentation.

Apple has since resumed inviting live humans to its events, but continues to offer a livestream online. That way, the presentation isn't just for the journalists who will write about the product. It ushers in the public, making it more of a marketing event that generates excitement about the new model.

And because these events are usually recorded and made accessible online later, you can miss the latest iPhone event or F-150 reveal and simply catch up later, without having to trust in a journalist's retelling. This is direct-to-consumer hype building.

One recent example of a livestreamed car debut comes from Infiniti. The brand teased the reveal of the 2025 QX80 SUV for March 20 — a full week before the 2024 New York auto show press days — and produced the livestream in partnership with iHeartMedia.

Then there's Tesla, a company without a public relations department. It does show up to auto shows periodically, though it's better known for livestreaming events.

Rivian

Surprises Generate Buzz

The final thing to keep in mind is the element of surprise and the buzz it can generate. Automakers and tech companies alike have to give you some reason to attend or tune in on the day of the announcement. With Apple, the company's rollout schedules for certain products are fairly predictable. There's generally a new iPhone every fall, for instance, and rumors and leaks abound. But the events with big pull don't have to give you all the details.

So it was with Rivian's recent announcement of its small R2 crossover. In early March, the company formally unveiled the R2, but the news was teased weeks ahead of time. A few days before the reveal, the vehicle's specs leaked online through Rivian's website. Was it accidental or a way to drive traffic to the event?

Regardless, on March 7, Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe walked out into a makeshift auditorium filled with Rivian employees and their families and showed them the R2. Then, as a surprise, he brought out its sibling, the even smaller R3.

But he wasn't done yet. Invoking "one more thing," Scaringe announced the R3X, a surprise rally-inspired version of the already-a-surprise R3. The crowd, by the way, went wild at every turn, much like the fans at a pre-pandemic Apple event did.

David Gluckman

David Gluckman has over a decade of experience as a writer and editor for print and digital automotive publications. He can parallel park a school bus, has a spreadsheet listing every vehicle he’s ever tested, and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest gimmicky foodstuffs that America has to offer.