A quick glance at the Geneva Motor Show has persuaded nervous Europeans that the genuine or imagined existential risk to their iconic auto industry through Chinese automakers had already been genuine.
After all, of the 23 European and world premieres of new sedans and SUVs, commonly electric, unveiled at what was once an annual show, about a third were Chinese, while some of the European debutants were Chinese, according to the show’s organizers.
Only one primary European has emerged, France’s Renault and its valuable Dacia brand. Others argue that this classic car display concept is past its on-sale date. Renault CEO Luca de Meo used his time in the spotlight to launch a new electric car, the 5, and unveil his “Airbus for Cars” project. The aim is to save Europe from expected Chinese imports of small urban electric cars by mobilising a pan-continental design to avoid potentially fatal blows to European manufacturers.
BYD was the most active attendee, showcasing the Seal plug-in hybrid and the giant 7-seater Tang SUV, as well as cars from its premium brands Denza and Yangwang. Denza was established more than 10 years ago with Mercedes. BYD now owns 90% of the company.
SAIC’s MG has unveiled its small hybrid “3” which is shaping up to be a big seller. MG is so far the most successful Chinese logo in Europe. Last year, Chinese logos sold just over 350,000 sedans and SUVs in Europe, the common electric maximum. MG led the way with 239,000 EVs, at most on average, roughly double the 2022 total.
The other debutants were mostly specialized teams, and the Microlino is now being introduced in Europe. The Microlino looks like a throwback to the old Isetta bubble car made by BMW in the 1950s.
The Geneva Motor Show in the spring was once an annual occasion for the global industry to offer its newest and biggest concepts to Europeans. This was followed by biennial exhibitions in Paris and Frankfurt in the fall. But the Covid pandemic put an end to this regime. In 2020, Paris tried to bounce back, while the Frankfurt Motor Show took on a new lease of life in Munich.
At its peak, the Geneva Motor Show attracted some 600,000 people over 10 days and up to 10,000 journalists. This time, the show, which ended on March 3 and is now called the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS), registered 168,000 visitors and 2,000 accredited journalists.
Cancellations due to the Covid pandemic coincided with a feeling within the industry that classic car shows were too expensive and the format was no longer working. What was the point of spending millions of dollars on expensive releases that captured the attention of media around the world for about 15 minutes, before a new explosion of hype and bluster drowned out the entire mind of the previous one?New online media and new media introduced the option of more targeted, much less expensive launches and allowed brands to decide when to coincide with their launch. schedules.
Renault five electric (Photo via Richard Bord/Getty Images)
Sam Fiorani, an analyst at Auto Forecast Solutions, founded in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, agrees, but admits that the old format still has some life to it.
“Companies need to focus on personal presentations for the media and devote more marketing to social media than to in-person presentations to the public. Whether this is the right direction remains to be seen, but the clock will most likely move forward. “to have some representation at fairs like Geneva again in the future,” Fiorani said in the March AFS report.
The Geneva Motor Show was not a consultant for the new cars to be launched in 2024. These include the new BMW Mini Cooper EV, a new Skoda Kodiaq compact SUV with a choice of petrol, diesel or plug-in hybrid, and the Cupra Tavascan. An electric car. SEEN. Cupra is a new Volkswagen brand, gradually replacing SEAT. An excellent list of new EVs this year includes the large VW ID. 7, which will compete with the BMW ifive and Mercedes EQE, the Kia EV9, the Hyundai Ioniq five N and the Little Renault five E-Tech. The new BMW 2 Series comes with either a combustion engine (X2) or the electric iX2.
The Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) also made an impression in Qatar. (Photo via GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFPArray. [ ] Getty Images)
Perhaps GIMS will return to its former glory. For this journalist, who first attended an industrial fair in Geneva in the early 1990s, this position has been ironic. Since Geneva is such a small city, from rush hour the traffic looks more like a parking lot. The only reliable way How to get to the Palexpo exhibition halls near Geneva airport during the fair?Exercise from the city center.