Geneva motor show confirms return in 2023

The Geneva auto show will return in 2023, show organizers announced Monday. Dates for the revived auto show will be Tuesday, February 14, to Sunday, February 19, 2023, according to a Facebook post.

The Geneva show was the first to be cancelled with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, shutting down in 2020 just days before it was scheduled to open. While other auto shows have returned since the initial pandemic lockdown, Geneva’s organizers haven’t been able to make that happen.

Staging a 2021 Geneva auto show proved impossible as well. Due to financial issues resulting from the lack of a 2020 show, The Foundation “Salon International De L’Automobile,” which ran the show, moved to sell the rights to Palexpo SA, the venue where the event is held.

Plans for a 2022 Geneva auto show were announced in May 2021, but then canceled in October 2021. Organizers cited continued coronavirus-related travel restrictions and the semiconductor shortage as reasons for the cancellation.

The rollout of vaccinations has allowed auto shows to return. Auto Shanghai, the Chicago and Los Angeles auto shows, and SEMA all returned in 2021, while a new event called Motor Bella was held in place of the Detroit auto show.

The New York auto show is also set to return later this month, albeit with fewer anticipated automakers and news announcements than its pre-pandemic days. A revamped Detroit auto show is scheduled for the fall, but the 2022 Beijing auto show has already been postponed due to a spike in coronavirus cases in China. Originally scheduled for late April, it’s possible the show will still run later in the year.