7:57 am, October 8, 2021
Next year’s Geneva motor show will not go ahead as planned due to ‘industry-wide issues relating to the Covid-19 pandemic’, organisers have confirmed.
The event had been scheduled to take place next February but concerns were raised about travel for attendees, manufacturer staff and journalists.
There were also worries that the ongoing semiconductor crisis would make it too difficult for companies to build enough cars to meet demand.
It is the third year in a row that the event has been cancelled due to the pandemic but organisers have insisted that the postponement will allow for ‘a more impactful show in 2023’.
In 2020, the Geneva motor show was one of the first major global events to be hit by the pandemic, when it was forced to cancel after the Swiss government put a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people one week before it opened its doors.
This year’s event was also cancelled because of the pandemic, meaning 2022 will be the third year in a row that the show does not go ahead.
Sandro Mesquita, CEO of the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS), said: ‘Many exhibitors have indicated that the uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic make it impossible for them to make a firm commitment for GIMS 2022.
‘When considering all the factors, it became clear that it was necessary to postpone the show, and to announce the news sooner than later to avoid cancelling at short notice.’
Next year’s show had been scheduled to be a revamped affair, which planned to be more digitally focused to give people new ways to interact.
The changes will continue to be worked on and implemented for the 2023 show.
In August, GIMS organisers announced a new version of the show that would take place biennially in Qatar.
The Geneva show will continue to take place every year, but the new event will be a separate entity held in the Qatari capital, Doha.
