Montreal Auto Show 2026

[Blueprint]

We're at Leg 3 of the Holidays - the Montreal Auto Show!

I'm attending media previews tomorrow night (Toyota, Nissan) but not media day Thursday because of the dayjob. Show opens to the public Friday morning (Jan. 16) and runs up to Sunday Jan. 25th.

I will be there on the 21st at the L'Annuel de l'automobile booth from about 5 pm to closing time, for those local.

A colleague leaked a few pics on fb. Cadillac will have a Celestiq on display and Kia will have the EV4 and its new electric vans. But Mazda won't be there at all.

[Johnnymac]

Meh, probably nothing but EVs and boring stuff to look at.

[Blueprint]

I attended media events with ToyoLexus and Nissan last evening.

The new ES is something. Radical departure from the brand's usual signature, will probably scare off anyone who bought an ES (or LS) in the past. Seems aimed at the Lucid Air / Model S crowd. Interior is show-car level.

C-HR EV looks promising, had elevated furnishings for the segment. But his and hers charging pads make the center console look like a panini grill.

Sat in new RAV4. Updated looks come with tons of hard plastics inside, something I'm noting more and more in newer designs, the money's going in electronics.

New Sentra looks great in person, should do well.

Pathfinder we saw had Infiniti vibes, with a chic blue and brown interior. V6/regular auto should help it carve its niche.

Rogue PHEV is, well, a Roguelander.

[Careener]

Thanks for the update. I'm going to the show next next week after work. I was going to skip this year since I was sick of cars (and dealers) after spending so much time finding the "perfect" used car for/with my son. I'm good to go now that a bit of time has passed

[Blueprint]

Attended yesterday, fairly good number of vehicles on display. Honda, Mazda and Porsche are MIA. BMW only has 3 vehicles in the pre-show lobby. HUGE boots by GM, Ford and Kyundai. For some reason, Ford had an Escape PHEV on display, despite pulling the plug (pun intended). Benz unlocked verything but the Maybach 'vert so 20 y.o. celeb youtubers can shop their new screens cars.

The Celestiq has presence. Heard a conversation that they sold their first one in Canada to a Quebec customer.

New Jeep Cherokee is not very roomy, much smaller inside than CR-V, RAV4 etc. Has electric door latches for some reason.

[RRocket]

Attended yesterday, fairly good number of vehicles on display. Honda, Mazda and Porsche are MIA. BMW only has 3 vehicles in the pre-show lobby. HUGE boots by GM, Ford and Kyundai. For some reason, Ford had an Escape PHEV on display, despite pulling the plug (pun intended). Benz unlocked verything but the Maybach 'vert so 20 y.o. celeb youtubers can shop their new screens cars.

The Celestiq has presence. Heard a conversation that they sold their first one in Canada to a Quebec customer.

New Jeep Cherokee is not very roomy, much smaller inside than CR-V, RAV4 etc. Has electric door latches for some reason.

I'm interested to see the new ES.

That's about it.

Seems like one of those quiet new vehicle introduction years.

[Blueprint]

Attended yesterday, fairly good number of vehicles on display. Honda, Mazda and Porsche are MIA. BMW only has 3 vehicles in the pre-show lobby. HUGE boots by GM, Ford and Kyundai. For some reason, Ford had an Escape PHEV on display, despite pulling the plug (pun intended). Benz unlocked verything but the Maybach 'vert so 20 y.o. celeb youtubers can shop their new screens cars.

The Celestiq has presence. Heard a conversation that they sold their first one in Canada to a Quebec customer.

New Jeep Cherokee is not very roomy, much smaller inside than CR-V, RAV4 etc. Has electric door latches for some reason.

I'm interested to see the new ES.

That's about it.

Seems like one of those quiet new vehicle introduction years.

The ES I sat in at the media event was there, but locked.

The really big intro was the Kia electric delivery van. A bunch of people were around Kia staff asking where they can order one or at least put a deposit - demand will be crazy in this province.

EV4 and EV5 also had a lot of attention.

Cheapest car seen: Nissan Sentra SV, $26k

Most expensive seen: Bugatti Chiron, $5.5M

[Johnnymac]

If you were to guess, what % of the vehicles were EV/PHEV on display at the show?

[Blueprint]

If you were to guess, what % of the vehicles were EV/PHEV on display at the show?

Less than the 33% market share reached in 2025, for sure! Even if one doesn't count the "tuner cars", classics and race cars in other rooms. The new Bolt was on the floor, two copies, no special display but lots of consumer interest. That may be my take - not as much emphasis on electrification by manufacturers, but despite that much more consumer interest directed at the plug-ins than at the performance cars that were on display (such as the huge stage the ZR1X was on).

[Blueprint]

Celestiq 

[Blueprint]

Interior, bespoke as they all are

[Blueprint]

ZR1X showing off its stats...

[Blueprint]

Benz interiors in 2026...

[Blueprint]

A very cool Caddy...

[Blueprint]

Walking back to the office after the show (building peeks out to the right)...