The 2022 Geneva International Motor Show, slated to happen in February, has been canceled as the COVID pandemic persists and the auto industry struggles with a global chip shortage.
Organizers said Thursday that there are still too many “uncertainties” related to the pandemic and the shortage for automakers to commit to the show, which usually serves as a showcase for wild supercars, concepts, and prototypes. The hope is to have “a more impactful show in 2023” with more virtual presentations.
“We have pushed very hard and tried everything to reactivate the Geneva International Motor Show in 2022,” Maurice Turrettini, who runs the committee in charge of the show, said in a statement. “Despite all our efforts, we have to face the facts and the reality: the pandemic situation is not under control and presents itself as a big threat for a large indoor event like GIMS. But we see this decision as a postponement, rather than a cancellation. I am confident that the Geneva International Motor Show will come back stronger than ever in 2023.”
Sandro Mesquita, the CEO of the show, said the “chip crisis is likely to drag on well into next year, with negative financial implications for OEMs. In these uncertain times, many brands are therefore unable to make a commitment to participate in a trade fair that would have taken place in just over four months.”
The Geneva Motor Show was one of the first big auto shows to get scrapped in early 2020 before the spread of the coronavirus had been officially labeled a pandemic. While a few have started back up again in recent months, the delta variant of the virus has forced organizers’ hands with events like the New York International Auto Show, which was canceled again in August. The Los Angeles Auto Show, set for mid-November, is still on track to happen.
