Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Geneva Auto Show
July 03, 2020 03:45 AM

Geneva exhibition hall company wants to stage an auto show in 2021

Nick Gibbs
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    The company that runs the Geneva auto show exhibition hall wants to stage a show in 2021 despite the organizers canceling the event.

    The director of the Palexpo exhibition center told Automotive News Europe that the risk was too great to wait until 2022 for the next iteration of the formerly annual event.

    "From what I know in the trade show business, if we lose the date it's too difficult to come back," Palexpo Director General Claude Membrez told ANE in an interview.

    The Geneva show has been hit by internal division since the 2020 event was abruptly canceled in March as it became clear how serious the coronavirus pandemic was becoming.

    The Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) organizers last week announced the cancellation of the 2021 event due to lack of interest from automakers. In a press conference on Monday, the foundation set up to run the show said it would seek to sell the event to Palexpo for 15 million Swiss francs ($15.9 million).

    "We heard they wanted to the sell the show to us, but this was the first time we heard the amount and the amount is huge!" Membrez said. He questioned why Palexpo should pay 15 million francs for an event that would not take place in 2021 and for a few years after likely would be 35 percent smaller because auto shows are becoming less popular.

    Membrez said any decision to buy the show would be made by the Palexpo board, which he expected would meet within the next two weeks to discuss it. Palexpo currently has a contract with GIMS to stage the event, which accounts for around a third of Palexpo's annual revenue.

    The Geneva auto show is Switzerland's largest event, generating about 200 million francs ($206 million) in income for the city, the authorities have said.

    Palexpo was built in 1981 to house the auto show and the center has expanded to 106,000 square meters since this time as the show grew bigger.

    "We all of us are children of the car show, which is why we are annoyed." Membrez said. "Without the show we are 40,000 sqm too big."

    Palexpo is 80 percent owned by the Geneva State authority. The authority has a significant interest in seeing the show return in 2021 because of the huge amount of income in generates for the local businesses. GIMS' refusal to stage a 2021 show was the reason it turned down a 17-million-franc bailout loan from the Geneva State authority, which had made staging a show in 2021 a condition of the loan.

    The GIMS's subsequent decision to both refuse the loan and then disband after selling the show has puzzled Palexpo. "It's really really weird," Membrez said. "We don't understand what they have in mind. If they have something in mind it has to be really complicated because we don't understand it."

    Membrez: "A smaller show is better than no show at all."

    GIMS has said it wanted to use 11 million francs of the loan to reimburse exhibitors that were left out of pocket when the 2020 event didn't go ahead. Membrez said GIMS would have been able to reimburse exhibitors if it had accepted the loan. "They refused the loan. It's really confusing," he said.

    Palexpo is prepared to accept a smaller show in 2021, Membrez said, going against the wishes of GIMS.

    A pared-down show could hasten the end of event altogether, the director general of GIMS, Sandro Mesquita, told Automotive News Europe in May: "It's important that the next show is good one and not a small, reduced one," he said. "That is not what the brands are expecting, if they are coming to Geneva it's because it's a big international motor show and not a small regional show."

    Membrez said that a smaller show is better than no show at all. "Sandro is right, it's a risk," he said. "But we think the risk of not doing anything is bigger."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Geneva show cancelled as organizers trade snow for sand
    Recommended for You
    Geneva show 2020
    Geneva show cancelled as organizers trade snow for sand
    Geneva show postponed until 2023
    Geneva show postponed until 2023
    Geneva show 2020
    Geneva show will keep cars as main focus
    Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sponsored Content: Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us