We’re pretty pumped up for the upcoming Manila International Auto Show. Sure, it’s our job to cover it, but who doesn’t enjoy seeing car premieres and new metal on the show stands? It’s also a time for most folks to see cars they might want to buy, while some visit just be around a lot of cars or go there as a family activity.
But it seems the enthusiasm for motor shows has waned in other parts of the world. For instance, there are fewer of these in North America, fewer manufacturers are joining, and attendance has been declining slowly. Yes, loads of people still visit, but not like before. The pandemic also made manufacturers realize they would rather rationalize their budgets instead of blowing it on elobarate displays.
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More shockingly, one of the ‘Big Five’ auto shows was cancelled (again) this year, the Geneva International Motor Show.
It’s the fourth year in a row it’s been cancelled, but the Geneva Motor Show is taking a new direction and, potentially, changing how auto shows are made. This year, the exhibition will take place in, of all places, Doha,Qatar. You don’t have to be a well-heeled traveler to know that Doha is absolutely nothing like Geneva, so, what’s the deal here?
The simple answer here is franchising. It was in 2020 when plans of holding the Geneva show in Doha was first drummed up. Geneva was the first to be cancelled because of Covid, and Qatar's Ministry of Tourism approached the Swiss organizers if they could hold a special show in the country’s capital. More serious talks took place the following year when the Geneva show was cancelled again in 2021, and the deal was finally made in 2022.
‘Franchising’ a motor show is certainly a first of its kind. Does this mean there will be international editions of the Geneva Motor Show in the near future? Well, no. The show’s organizers are pragmatic in their approach, and won’t go beyond Qatar. However, if it proves successful, it might set a precedent for other major auto shows.
