Disappointing (non) showing at 2024 Geneva International Motor Show

In March 1961, Bob Berry drove overnight to get the E Type No.1 to Geneva in time for its launch, 24 hours later he was followed by Norman Dewis in E Type No.2 to join the first following the amazing success of the launch. That was the pull of Geneva, the motor show that has launched cars like the Ferrari 250 GT California (think Ferris Bueller!), the Range Rover, the Ford Capri and the Fiat Panda.

The last pre-pandemic show, held in 2019, hosted over 35 vehicle manufacturers with over 46 concept cars between them in addition to more than 130 production vehicles on show.

So, what did the 2024 show bring? Well, in a word disappointment. Not disappointment for the vehicle manufacturers that made the effort to attend, but disappointment for those that chose not to.

Of the few manufacturers that attended, only SAIC, BYD and Renault Group (with Renault and Dacia) were showing anything new. This really was a show defined more by what (and who) was not there rather than what was.

Interestingly Fiat chose the Geneva press day to launch its new Panda concept, only they did it away from Geneva; this might be a sign of the future of Europe’s premier motoring event.

Perhaps the two major stands at the show, BYD and SAIC, also show the direction for Europe’s motor industry, with everybody starting to look east.

So, onto the show itself, despite the limited number of cars on display, there were nonetheless some important launches, and interesting insights.

Certainly, the biggest launch was that of the Renault 5 E-Tech, the new electric B Segment offering from Renault.

With retro styling, this electric car appears to be a well-engineered option that will give Renault a good competitor in the market.

Based on the CMF-B EV platform shared between Renault and Nissan, the 5 will have two battery options at 40kW and 52 kW giving predicted ranges of up to 250 miles. Interiors are again retro and bold in their styling, but the quality appeared to be good. With prices likely to start at around ￡25k, the 5 is due to go on sale later in 2024.

From Renault's stable mate, Dacia, we had the launch of the facelifted Dacia Spring; this is the first time we will see a RHD version of this circa ￡16k EV, expected to come to the UK in the summer.

Moving onto other brands, LUCID launched the Gravity, an SUV version of the Air.

This high-end, long-range “Tesla beater” is looking to compete with the likes of the Mercedes EQS and BMW i7 and whilst its quality appeared good, Lucid may have been shaken by the strong performance of SAIC on the show floor.

At the show, SAIC launched a new brand in Europe, IM (Intelligent Mobility), with four cars on show, the L6 and L7 Saloons, and LS6 and LS7 SUVs.

All four cars really showed how far the Chinese car manufacturers have come, with quality every bit as good as the LUCID vehicles next to them. Whilst pricing has not been confirmed, the L6 is rumoured to be around the ￡40k mark, less than half the expected cost of the LUCID.

Sharing the SAIC stand was the more familiar brand of MG, launching the new MG3. Rumoured to be aiming to start at ￡16k, this MG really made the Dacia look cheap and seems highly likely to take the place of the much-loved Ford Fiesta.

Another interesting model on the MG stand was the MG9 EV, if I had been blindfolded when getting in the car, I would have put money on the fact I was in a Mercedes S Class, the interior quality was of that level.

BYD had evidently invested a lot into the show, and not only had the full display of BYD models, but they also brought two new brands to test the water.

Yang Wang U8 was clearly a halo model and takes more than a little inspiration from the Land Rover Defender.

At well over ￡100k, this is definitely a specialist model, but with six electric motors, a range extender PHEV configuration, great offroad capabilities and incredible luxury it was a great showcase for what the company can achieve.

The second new brand was Denza, which began in 2010 as a joint venture between Mercedes Benz and BYD. It is aimed at the more luxury end of the market, and again the vehicles on show demonstrated just what BYD are capable of.

Away from the traditional manufacturers, two companies stood out with their electric L7 class vehicles, Microlino and Silence Urban Ecomobility. Both were showing small two seater city cars, priced at between ￡17k and ￡20k.

Considering other EV offerings, I think it is unlikely that these L7 class vehicles will gain much traction in the UK, but they are worth keeping an eye on. With little or no safety considerations, and very little low-speed crash mitigation, they are likely to bring some costly challenges to insurers should numbers start to pick up.

Ben Townsend , head of automotive, was joined at the International Geneva Motor Show by Thatcham Research colleagues Tom Leggett , vehicle technology manager, and Sarah Butler , senior research engineer.