The end of the road for the Geneva Motor Show as 2021 event cancelled

The organisers of the Geneva Motor Show - where new cars models and concepts are revealed - have cancelled next year's event following a lack of interest from carmakers.

Next year's Geneva Motor Show, which was due to take place in March 2021, will not go ahead - with the owners looking to sell the event. The announcement raises questions about the future of motor shows as a whole.

As well as suffering from the huge financial losses of scrapping the 2020 show, the majority of the event's exhibitors who took part in a survey said they would "probably not participate" in a show next year but would prefer attending a 2022 event. Other auto shows in New York and Detroit were also cancelled this year as the Covid-19 pandemic began.

>>> 2021 Citroen e-C4 will travel 217 miles on a single charge

This year's Geneva Motor Show was cancelled in February, just days before it was due to open its doors to the public, due to health concerns and travel restrictions. It regularly attracts more than half a million visitors, from both press and public - and is Switzerland's largest public event. It makes about 200m Swiss francs (£171 million) a year, according to the organisers.

The Committee and Council of the Foundation “Salon International de l’Automobile,” which puts on the show, had been seeking financial help from the Swiss government in the months since the cancellation, and the Canton of Geneva offered a loan of 16.8 million Swiss francs. But the foundation turned down the loan.

On Monday, the automotive show's organisers announced plans to sell the show's assets to the owners of the Palexpo conference centre where the event is held. 

The spotlight is now on other motor shows and events, considering the financial and logistical burden of launching physical events compared to digital press conferences and launches to reveal new models.