Here’s What You Should Know About the 2021 LA International Auto Show

With as many health-crisis precautions as possible in place, the 2021 LA International Auto Show is set to kick-off with press day commencing on November 17th and lasting through the evening of the 18th. Then, the Los Angeles Convention Center will open its doors to a hungry petrolhead crowd for the first time since the global health crisis swept the world 18 months ago.

Alongside press day, another LA Auto Show tradition kicks off on November 17th. Of course, this event is AutoMobility LA, a multi-day event geared towards journalists, industry reps, and designers to congregate and discuss the groundbreaking unveilings this year's event has in store and do some significant personal networking.

Journalists and industry reps alike will likely have more than enough to talk about at his years AutoMobility LA. With global debuts and concept car unveilings galore, the LA show looks like it's coming back with a bang, starting firstly with the unveiling of the all-new, all-electric Fisker Ocean SUV.

With its sights undoubtedly aimed squarely at the juggernauts at Tesla and their uber-popular Model Y, Fisker hopes that the Ocean will have more mass-market appeal than their previous, undoubtedly brilliant but continuously problematic Karma EV sports car. Six years after a crippling bankruptcy and restructuring process saw the brand start from scratch, Fisker hopes the appeal of an SUV under their brand is the ticket that sees them return to relevancy in earnest.

The autonomous and electric Vision Urbonaut from the team at BMW and Mini is also due to debut at the event. Showing us what a potential future may look like when AI controls and steers our vehicle, not our hands and feet. As Orwellian as that may sound to some, it's just one of the features on tap for a show bound to be full of headliners.

Keeping with the EV theme, Subaru is another automaker, admittedly more established than the team at Fisker, which until the LA Show this year, had never showcased a pure EV at a major auto show. That's all set to change with the Solterra SUV. The Solterra is the benefactor of the same cooperative effort between Subaru and Toyota that brought us the BRZ and GT-86. The vehicle was shown in Toyota markings under the Bz4X concept earlier this year. Now, under the watchful eyes of American journalists and car enthusiasts, the Subaru branded version will have its day in the limelight.

For those of us looking for a more traditional internal combustion-based crossover, have no fear. Mazda is here with their CX-50. Not to be confused with the CX-5, the CX-50 is a two-row SUV available with two 2.5-liter engine options. While slightly smaller than its CX-5 cousin, the CX-50 offers a similar level of features, interior space, and all-wheel-drive capability as Mazda's established line of competitive crossovers.

On the concept side of things, both Kia and Hyundai are ready to show they're ready to set the tone for future EV development with their respective EV9 and Seven concept cars. Both will see their global debut under the star-filled skies of Los Angeles with a who's who of auto journalists and media outlets scanning and critiquing every angle of its construction.

Hyundai's Ioniq 7 is meant to be a brand ambassador for their new Ioniq division focused entirely on electric vehicle technology. With this and so many other exciting EVs on tap this year, it may be the very first auto show that has the spotlight completely taken over by all-electric tech. But there's so much more we expect to see from proceedings this weekend and the following week.

The event will run with in-person attendance from November 19th until the 28th, with lots of jam-packed new release action throughout. Be sure to check back for more coverage of this year's exciting LA Auto show here on Autoevolution.