Breaking: Geneva motor show axed indefinitely
Organisers blame difficult market conditions and “lack of manufacturer interest” following turbulent post-Covid period
The Geneva motor show has been axed indefinitely as organisers cancelled next year’s edition and pulled future editions.
Bosses cited difficult post-Covid market conditions as well as “too many uncertainties” currently within the automotive industry which has “eroded the attractiveness of major European shows”.
Show president Alexandre de Senarclens blamed a “lack of interest from manufacturers” and the growing competition from the likes of the Paris and Munich shows as “the final blow for a future edition”.
This, the Comité permanent du Salon international de l'automobile, which organises the event, added meant investing further posed too much risk. The committee labelled it a “responsible decision”.
Confirming that the show won’t be returning, the Comité said in a statement: “This decision follows the recognition that market conditions in Europe are not conducive to the success of future editions.”
The decision does not affect the Doha-based sister event, which launched in 2023 during the Geneva show’s four-year hiatus. The next edition is planned for November 2025.
“This extremely regrettable decision should not detract from the efforts and determination with which we have tried to regain our success,” said de Senarclens.
“The teams had put all their determination into reviving this motor show after the COVID pandemic.”
Previously, organisers told Autocar the next Geneva motor show was planned to open on 17 February 2025, following this event’s “successful and promising” return earlier this year.
The 2024 Geneva motor show was the first to take place since 2019.
With 23 manufacturers displaying their vehicles, this year’s Geneva show was markedly smaller than the pre-Covid events, with notable omissions including Stellantis and the Volkswagen Group.
Those omissions, and more, followed reportedly bad blood between organisers and some manufacturers over monetary losses incurred by the late pulling of the 2020 show.
In its heyday, the Geneva show, launched in 1905, was regarded as the big European motor event, with as many as 120 exhibitors and some 600,000 visitors attending the event