Optimism, anticipation, reality . . . LAST DANCE
Geneva, 28April – 6May 1906
Geneva, 26 February – 3 March 2024
Palexpo, Geneva
The dates are set, the room is booked (!) but many key exhibitors have said “no”. View the teaser video from GIMS here.
We have a ticket for Saturday 2nd March to capture the ambience and the content of the GIMS 2024 Geneva edition. Here is the list of exhibitors and the layout. Two halls are occupied out of the seven at Palexpo. 200,000 visitors are expected (168,000 at final count) compared to 600-700,000 in pre-COVID times. There is a dedicated GIMS shuttle bus from Geneva station to Palexo which was rather empty, but when arriving at the salon entrance for our 14:00 time slot there were already thousands queuing. The queue moved quickly through ticket check and security and entrance was guided to the upper space of hall 2 which is where the classic cars were displayed. From up there we then could see down over the main Hall 4, a more familiar and optimistic sight as in previous years, but sadly that one hall was basically it. Will we see the return of the largest exhibition in Switzerland? Or as one commentator puts it: “What is important is maybe not size but relevance” (!) Sure COVID was the clincher, but the whole industry is in re-invention mode and expensive car shows may no longer be in fashion.
So our photo/video report is now completed — some large splashy displays, no turntables, no rotating supercars. Yet an enjoyable experience and we can imagine that those few major exhibitors have really benefited from the “captive audience”.
BYD was the Chinese exhibitor. Dacia, MG, Renault, Lucid, Pininfarina, were among the more familiar. Shenzer (high end commercial vehicles) and Lazareth (extreme custom motorcycles) were there too. Perception at this salon is that the world has already shifted to all electric — Isuzu utilitarian for example showed up as electric, Beeway is big in electric and hydrogen commercial, Silent bring electric scooters and the S04 ‘Nanocar’ with removable battery module for charging at home or in the office. Swiss start-up Microlino (car) and traditional Motosacoche (motorized bicycles) . . . well, it will be all in the video. Seven cars in the finals of competition for the “car of the year” award, six of them electric. Renault Scenic and BMW 5 series were close rivals.
large screen display
Just one of the classic cars exhibited appears in our movie, it is the Bugatti Royale (1932) – only 7 were made. Our classic cars video is next— images captured in GIMS and in the Gianadda foundation and at the Emil Frey Classic Cars museum, and one in the BMW museum at their factory in Munich.
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