The LA Auto Show 2026 runs Friday, Nov. 20, through Sunday, Nov. 29, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
AutoMobility LA, the one-day media and industry program, comes first on Thursday, Nov. 19.
Those are the facts the show’s organizers announced in early August 2026. Almost everything else about the 2026 edition, including which cars will be revealed, has not been published yet.
This is a preview, not a report. What follows separates what is confirmed from what is a reasonable expectation based on the 2024 and 2025 shows.
What is confirmed
Tickets went on sale Aug. 4, 2026.
Seniors 65+, children 6–12 pay $13; kids under 6 are free at LA Auto Show 2026.
Opening day on Nov. 20 is priced lower.
It is $20 for adults and $9 for seniors and children.
Weekday-only tickets for Monday through Thursday, Nov. 23 to 26, are $22 for adults and $11 for seniors and children.
For LA Auto Show 2026, weekend priority-entry tickets run $45 for adults and $23 for seniors and children.
There is a $66 family four-pack for Nov. 25 and 26.
A VIP guided tour is $95 for adults and $45 for children.
Test drives are included with admission. The organizers say drivers can take new gas, hybrid and electric models onto downtown streets and onto a set of indoor and outdoor tracks, including one branded as the LADWP Test Track. Two indoor courses are confirmed: Camp Jeep and a Ford Bronco off-road course, both with professional drivers behind the wheel.
The Underground, the show’s car-culture floor on the lower level, is also confirmed. The show describes it as a home for lowriders, customs, tuners and exotics. In 2025 it held more than 40 exhibitors, including South Bay Pop-Ups, World Famous 4×4 and creator studios with photographer Larry Chen and builder Hannah Maloof.
Chevron with Techron is the presenting sponsor. The Korea Daily reported in August that Capital One Auto Navigator signed on as the show’s first official financing partner, and that Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, which keep their U.S. headquarters in Orange County, are expected to exhibit. The show itself had not published a brand list as of mid-September.
What is not confirmed yet
The debut list. Per trade outlet THE SHOP, the organizers plan to publish it in late October, with the press-conference schedule following in early November. Until then, any headline naming a specific 2026 reveal is a guess.
Daily hours are also not posted. The show’s Know Before You Go page says the floor will be open on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, but lists no times. In 2025 the show ran until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, closed at 7 p.m. on weekdays, and shut down at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Expect a similar pattern, and check before driving up.
The Galpin Hall of Customs, once a fixture, is another open question. Galpin’s own page for the exhibit was last updated in 2023, and the show’s 2025 releases described a Showcase Hall of customs and exotics and a Sparq-hosted hall of film and video game vehicles instead. The 2026 release mentions hall showcases for customs, exotics, lowriders and restorations without naming Galpin.
How to read the show
Two years of coverage point the same direction. Edmunds wrote after the 2024 show that luxury brands had all but abandoned it. WardsAuto’s 2025 recap listed BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura and Tesla among the absent, even though all of them sell heavily in California.
What filled the space was electrified mainstream product.
Much of it came from the Korean brands down the 405.
In 2024 that meant the Hyundai Ioniq 9.
The refreshed Kia EV6 and the EV9 GT joined the VW Tiguan.
Honda Passport also joined them.
In 2025, Kia showed the hybrid 2027 Telluride.
Hyundai unveiled the 641-horsepower Ioniq 6 N.
Jeep previewed the electric Recon and the range-extended Grand Wagoneer.
Chevrolet introduced the $29,990 2027 Bolt.
Industries anticipate announcements at the LA Auto Show 2026.
Cars.com’s editors said plainly that 2025 had fewer big reveals than earlier editions. The organizers, for their part, said manufacturer participation was at a five-year high, and named 26 brands, including Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Subaru, Rivian, Lucid and the Stellantis lineup, plus Porsche through its downtown dealer.
Both things can be true. This is now a show you go to for the driving, not the curtain drops.
That is the practical takeaway for a SoCal buyer. The 2025 EV track highlighted Cadillac, Chevrolet, Lucid, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Volvo on one course. The street-drive lineup added Kia, Rivian, Subaru, Toyota, and the Stellantis brands. If the 2026 lineup matches, it offers a rare chance to compare a Lucid, a Bolt, and an Ioniq. The LA Auto Show 2026 will feature these models for back-to-back comparisons.
AutoMobility LA on Nov. 19 is a separate event.
Additionally, it is a paid industry conference and press day.
Pricing is $149 through Oct. 15, and $249 after.
Credentialed media can enter for free.
LA Auto Show 2026 centers on three themes: energy, autonomy, and entertainment.
The 2025 edition included California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin and Lucid’s interim CEO.
Additionally, executives from Zoox and Lyft were on the main stage.
As of mid-September, no 2026 speakers had been named.
Getting there from Long Beach and OC
Skip the garage if you can. The show’s own guidance says Convention Center parking is first come, first served and usually runs $25 to $35, and it points visitors to SpotHero for advance booking.
From Long Beach, the Metro A Line runs straight to Pico Station, which Metro describes as one block from the Convention Center. The E Line stops there too. That makes the show one of the easier downtown events to reach without a car, which is a little ironic and also convenient.
From Orange County, the simplest rail route is Metrolink to Union Station and a transfer to the A Line southbound to Pico.
The weekday-only ticket, Nov. 23–26, signals lighter days.
Moreover, the cheapest adult ticket is opening day, Nov. 20, at $20, for LA Auto Show 2026.
Sources
- LA Auto Show via PR Newswire: “Los Angeles Auto Show Tickets Now On Sale: Ten Days, Hundreds of New Vehicles and Unlimited Test Drives for SoCal” (Aug. 4, 2026)
- LA Auto Show via PR Newswire: “Los Angeles Auto Show Opens Registration for AutoMobility LA 2026, Built on Energy, Autonomy and Entertainment” (Aug. 6, 2026)
- THE SHOP: “Los Angeles Auto Show Opens Ticket Sales, Automobility LA Opens Registration” (Aug. 6, 2026)
- LA Auto Show: “Know Before You Go”
- The Korea Daily: “LA Auto Show Returns in November with Expanded Hands-On Experiences” (Aug. 18, 2026)
- LA Auto Show via PR Newswire: “More Test Drives, More Brands, More to Discover at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show” (Nov. 18, 2025)
- LA Auto Show via PR Newswire: “More Automakers, More Test Drives, More to Discover at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show” (Sept. 16, 2025)
- LA Auto Show via PR Newswire: “Los Angeles Auto Show Brings Car Culture to Life in The Underground” (Nov. 17, 2025)
- LA Auto Show via PR Newswire: “LA Auto Show Unveils AutoMobility LA 2025 Program” (Oct. 31, 2025)
- NBC Los Angeles: “What to know about the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show”
- WardsAuto: “5 electrified takeaways from the 2025 LA Auto Show” (Bengt Halvorson, Dec. 11, 2025)
- Cars.com: “2025 Los Angeles Auto Show: Everything You Missed”
- Edmunds: “2024 LA Auto Show: All the New Debuts”
- Metro (The Source): “A newbie’s guide to riding Metro to the Coliseum, Convention Center, DTLA and many other popular places” (updated Aug. 28, 2024)
- Galpin Motors: “LA Auto Show Hall of Customs”
