Major events continue to be canceled: after the first coronavirus cases in Switzerland, the Geneva Motor Show will not take place this year.
- The Swiss Federal Council initially prohibits major events .
- Organizer Palexpo cancels the Geneva Motor Show .
- The tickets sold for the fair will be refunded
Geneva - The Geneva Motor Show was to take place for the 90th time this year from March 5 to 15. It won't happen. After the first coronavirus cases in Switzerland , the Federal Council decided on February 28 to ban all public and private events with more than 1,000 people. This ban is valid until March 15th. The organizer of the Geneva Motor Show, Palexpo, then canceled the fair.
Coronavirus: Switzerland bans major blemishes
The decision of the Federal Council * came only three days before the fair was to open the doors for press representatives on March 3. The basis for the Federal Council's decision is the Swiss Epidemic Act .
At the press conference for this year’s edition of the Geneva Motor Show a week ago, it didn’t look as if such a measure could emerge. But now things went very quickly. As reported by bild.de , the big car manufacturers had already agreed behind the scenes to stay away from the fair. Accordingly, they planned to announce the cancellation of their participation on Friday afternoon. The picture also reports that some employees from the trade fair construction and public relations department had already started to leave Geneva on Thursday to prevent any quarantine.
Also interesting: Before IAA decision: Munich trade fair boss sure of victory.
The car shows are uncertain times
The cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show also reflects the general problems of the auto shows. They are becoming less important in the digital age. Even without the Geneva Motor Show , the manufacturers will be able to present their new releases to the public in an effective way. It will now be seen whether the failure of a trade fair has any negative effects for the manufacturers. The Swiss auto show, which is not taking place, is also a test run for the manufacturers.
Geneva Motor Show and Basel Carnival canceled: Federal Council prohibits all events with over 1,000 people. https://t.co/OCaW68CzPo
- 20 minutes (@ 20min) February 28, 2020The major auto shows are currently coming under increasing pressure. The IAA 2019 saw hail from the manufacturers. Land Rover, Ford and the entire PSA group also wanted to stay away from the Geneva Motor Show from the start. According to how-to-cars.com , almost 20 brands were already missing in Geneva. And it is not to be assumed that these will occur with a possible catch-up appointment. It is more likely that even more manufacturers will withdraw - after all, participation in a trade fair is associated with enormous costs for each manufacturer. In times of digitalization, more and more car manufacturers could forego participation in the opulent events. The problems of the major auto shows are becoming increasingly tangible even without the corona virus.
Also read: Higher purchase premium for electric cars in effect.
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Arne Roller
* tz.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Uli Deck
