This weekend, we learned that the Beijing Auto Show had to be postponed due to Covid-19, which is not discouraging news, for sure. However, there is some possibly good news to latch onto, especially if as it pertains to the Geneva Motor Show.
Today, organizers of the Swiss car show announced that their event will return in 2023, even going so far as to announce dates: the party starts on February 14 and ends on February 19.
The Geneva Motor Show has the sad distinction of being the first auto show to be cancelled at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, back in March 2020, just days before it was due to open. While other auto shows have since returned, Geneva organizers have been unable to put on an event.
Organizing a 2021 proved impossible, specifically due to financing issues resulting from the lack of a show in 2020, after which the "Salon International de l'Automobile" Foundation, which managed the show, had sold the rights to it to Palexpo SA, the venue for the event.
As for the 2022 Geneva Motor Show, announced in May 2021, it was cancelled in October 2021. The organizers cited too many travel restrictions and the microchip crisis as reasons for their decision.
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The improvement of the pandemic situation, with the arrival of vaccines and the mutation of the virus, has allowed other events to resume. This is the case for the Shanghai, Chicago and Los Angeles shows, as well as SEMA, which was held in 2021.
In April, the New York Show will also make a return, albeit with a reduced schedule. In the fall, a new Detroit Auto Show is planned. Recall that the last event in the Motor City was in January 2019 (not counting last September's Motor Bella).
So there's reason for optimism, despite a situation that's still not ideal.