Mercedes officials have confirmed to the German publication Automobilwoche that the German premium brand will not be exhibiting at the Geneva Motor Show, which runs from 26 February to 3 March 2024.
After a four-year hiatus, the Geneva Motor Show returns in 2024 to its traditional venue at the Palexpo complex near Geneva airport. But the return doesn’t bode well, as all German premium manufacturers have announced they will not participate.
The decision is surprising given that Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and Porsche attended this autumn’s Munich Motor Show, where they had huge stands both on the exhibition grounds and in the center of Munich.Mercedes even had an impressive stand in the Residenz Platz in the center of Munich: a giant red cube in which they presented the Mercedes CLA concept.
Until the coronavirus pandemic that started in February/March 2020 in Europe, the Geneva Motor Show was the most important auto show in Europe, taking place every year, while the Frankfurt and Paris shows alternated every two years.
However, the collaboration between the Geneva motor show organizers and German premium manufacturers came to a standstill after the 90th 2020 edition was canceled just 3 days before the start due to the pandemic, and the organizers did not return the money paid by the manufacturers claiming that they had spent a lot of money on the organization and it was a case of major force.
In their reasoning for the 2024 decision, Mercedes, BMW, and Audi officials gave various explanations to Automobilwoche. Mercedes said it carefully considered the decision not to participate, Audi representatives said the decision was not made against the organizers, and BMW officials said they rely more on social media and will not be present at the auto shows.
Although they haven’t already made an official announcement, it seems that Porsche and Lamborghini won’t be attending either, with Porsche also pulling out of the Los Angeles show, which will take place in a few days even California is the biggest market for the iconic 911.
Ferrari has also announced that it will not participate at the Geneva motor show in 2024. The Italian sports car brand has had continuous participation in Geneva for the past decades but decided not to attend in 2024. The Italians always had an imposing stand, and, for Ferrari, attending the Geneva show also had an important commercial side as the Italians sold several dozen cars at each Geneva show.
