On October 8th, the organizers of the Geneva Motor Show announced that the 91st edition of the event, originally scheduled for February 2022, will be postponed to 2023. This is the third consecutive delay or cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show.
The 2020 and 2021 GIMS were postponed due to the Swiss government’s ban on gatherings of over 1,000 people during the pandemic. This time, the postponement was mainly due to the impact of pandemic prevention and control measures and the chip shortage that caused delays in the production of new cars by automakers.
The organizers of the Geneva Motor Show are the Comité permanent du Salon international de l’automobile de Genève, with Maurice Turrettini, the Chairman of the Standing Committee, saying, “We have been working very hard and trying everything to restart the Geneva International Motor Show in 2022. Despite all our efforts, we must face the fact that the pandemic situation is not yet under control and poses a huge threat to large indoor events like GIMS. However, we believe that this is a postponement, not a cancellation. I believe that the Geneva International Motor Show will be stronger than ever in 2023.”
Sandro Mesquita, CEO of the Geneva International Motor Show, said, “Many exhibitors have indicated that the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic makes it impossible for them to make a firm commitment to GIMS 2022. In addition, the negative impact of the current semiconductor shortage is affecting automakers. The chip crisis is likely to drag on into next year and have a negative financial impact on the entire automotive industry. In this uncertain period, many brands are thus unable to commit to participate in a trade fair that was supposed to take place in just over four months. Taking all factors into consideration, it is clear that it is necessary to postpone the exhibition and announce the news as early as possible to avoid cancellation at short notice.”
The cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show is indeed regrettable, but we see the far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the chip shortage on global automakers.
🔗Source: GIMS
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.