The American Financial Services Association’s annual Vehicle Finance Conference and Expo will go virtual for 2021, mirroring the decision of the National Automobile Dealers Association this week.
NADA said it plans to move its annual event to February amid uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The American Financial Services Association, the national trade association for the consumer credit industry, hosts its event on vehicle financing in the days leading up to the NADA Show.
“We’re working with members to identify how best to meet their needs and best respect their time,” Dan Bucherer, a spokesman for the financial association, said in an emailed statement. “We’re looking at several virtual options in the January/February time frame and later in the spring with in-person or hybrid programming.”
The NADA Show, which typically draws tens of thousands of dealers, vendors and others from across the U.S. and other countries, was slated for Jan. 21-24 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.
The American Financial Services Association’s event, which primarily attracts auto lenders and others in the financial services sector, was scheduled for Jan. 19-22 at The Roosevelt New Orleans hotel.
While the pandemic is causing problems for in-person events for the near term, the association is confident that attendance will remain on par with previous years.
“We’ve just finished a successful joint annual and independents conference with more than 500 registrants, so we know there is an appetite for content-heavy meetings,” Bucherer said.