Geneva motor show spawns Qatar sister event

The Geneva motor show will be joined by a secondary biennial event in the Middle East under a new tourism deal struck between organisers of Europe’s biggest annual auto show and the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The first edition of the Qatar Geneva International Motor Show, as it will be known, is scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar in either late 2022 or early 2023, it was announced overnight.

Meanwhile, organisers say the annual Swiss auto show, which was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, will continue to be held every year in its traditional timeslot. The 2022 Geneva motor show has been slated for February 19 and 27.

The Geneva show is reportedly worth $300 million to the local economy but its unprecedented cancellation for two consecutive years caused a significant cash deficit.

The historic Swiss exhibition was sold to convention centre owner Palexpo SA rather than default on a one-million Swiss franc ($A1.5m) repayment after a bailout loan originally approved by the Canton of Geneva and Grand Council was abandoned.

The Geneva show’s Qatar lifeline represents a green-shoots moment of sorts for international automotive shows, which have been decimated by COVID-19 setbacks, a general decline in attendance figures and car-maker budgets being re-allocated from traditional events to digital marketing.

Qatar Tourism chairman Akbar Al Baker said the Geneva deal was aimed at building tourism in the Doha region.

“In line with the national strategy, Qatar National Vision 2030, we are expanding our tourism proposition to position Qatar as a world-leading destination and ensure guests enjoy the very best of Qatar,” he said.

“In addition to extensive hotel and resort development, the refurbishment and creation of tourism assets and an expanding culinary scene, hosting internationally renowned events is an important pillar of our strategy.

“We’re pleased to partner with the highly distinguished Geneva International Motor Show and look forward to a collaborative relationship to bring this eminent event to our shores.”

The international motor show circuit has endured a significant shake-up since the coronavirus outbreak, with a long list of cancelled events in 2020 including Beijing, Geneva, Paris, Detroit and New York.

Detroit’s flagship North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) has reverted to a smaller six-day event known as Motor Bella after being cancelled in 2020, the seismic Frankfurt motor show will relocate to Munich for the 2021 edition next month and the Paris show hopes to return in 2022.

Last year, the 2020 New York show was postponed from April to August, before being cancelled altogether as the venue – Jacob K Javits Convention Centre – was turned into a makeshift hospital.

The Shanghai motor show physically went ahead in April, as did the Chicago motor show in July.

However, this month’s New York motor show was canned at the last minute, forcing car-makers to rethink reveals including the hotly-anticipated Nissan Z and Subaru WR.