Polling of consumers in the Chicago marketplace showed many positive takeaways from the first Chicago Auto Show ever held in July, Michigan-based Foresight Research found.

Conductors surveyed 500 random households in the Chicago market between July 20 and Aug. 4, plus extras to ensure that 200 respondents personally attended the show. The show continued to have a high awareness in the area, with just 10% of local households that did not attend citing a lack of awareness of the July show.

The summer dates allowed for an expansion of the show outdoors, significantly increasing test drive opportunities. The average visit (show dwell time) was 6 hours 5 minutes — almost 90 minutes longer than in 2020 and the longest dwell time ever measured by Foresight. Analysts attributed that to the show’s outdoor street festival and the abundant number of ride-and-drives offered by manufacturers. Forty-five percent of visitors reported taking a ride indoors or outdoors.

Automakers, researchers found, "were hyper-focused on communicating their current and upcoming offerings in hybrid and battery electric vehicles, and the survey shows these efforts were not in vain." Show visitors were already 50%-100% more familiar with hybrids and electric vehicles than the local general population, and 76% of attendees said their likelihood to buy such vehicles increased as a result of their attendance.

Another notable achievement of the show was the high and increased number of its visitors actively cross-shopping, as measured by adding and subtracting brands from consideration lists: 58% of show attendees added one or more brands to their shopping list (up from 43% in 2020, and 41% subtracted brands from their lists (22% last year).

Other highlights:

• Show visitors continued to be younger, more often automotive influencers, and more ethnically diverse that the Chicago market’s overall population.

• Visitors continued to be disproportionately luxury brand-owning households.

• Visitors who are in-market to buy a new car or truck (12-month intenders) were almost double the intention rate of the local population.