Coincidence or not, the automotive industry's month of April was busier than usual, with two significant events on the roster – the 2023 New York International Auto Show from April 7 to 16 and China's Auto Shanghai 2023 (or Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition) from April 20 to 27.
Three years ago, all major public events fell ill one after another due to the latest global pandemic, and many people were eager to spell out the impending doom for automakers and automotive shows. The hardships were great, indeed, for both. The carmakers not only had to contend with the novel approach of doing remote business while people tried to cope with the health crisis, but they also quickly fell victim to the pesky chip shortage and countless other supplier constraints.
In turn, they doubled down on great new model introductions and also used the global turmoil as the perfect excuse to hike prices – on more than one occasion. They did not necessarily need the adjusted MSRPs – look at all the luxury and ultra-posh brands (Ferrari, Rolls, Lambo, etc.) jumping with joy over the past few months regarding their record-breaking financial results of 2022. You see, the rich are always getting more prosperous, and there are no such things as hard times for them – just new opportunities.
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