LA Preview: Lamborghini And Bentley Will Be No-Shows in Los Angeles

Despite the huge concentration of exotic and high end cars in Los Angeles, many exclusive automakers won’t be in attendance at this year’s annual LA Auto Show. The latest two to drop from the list are Bentley and Lamborghini. That means attendees won’t be able to see the amazing new Reventón Roadster or the massive Mulsanne luxury sedan, with both vehicles having recently made their official world debuts at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The Mulsanne, also made an appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance earlier this year.

Bentley’s Pebble Beach debut proved successful and was part of the brand’s approach to better utilize its resources, by showing the vehicle in front of a crowd where almost everyone in attendance could buy the vehicle – or a few of them. Official auto shows, like in Los Angeles, don’t usually bring buyers, however, the media exposure also has a lot of value in spreading the word about a new product.

High end automakers have been hit particularly hard in the recent recession and many are still scaling back to meet decreased demand. With far fewer vehicle sold than a Toyota or General Motors, every unit moved by a company like Lamborghini represents a much higher percentage of overall sales. In total, this year Lambo’s U.S. sales are down roughly 40 percent, while Bentley’s have been chopped in half.

Other automakers that have already announced they will be no-shows include Ferrari/Maserati and Aston Martin, which recently said it will have a dealer display. Unfortunately, this means we don’t see the new 458 Italia, GranCabrio or Rapide either.