Is the Geneva Motor Show not fragrant? What is the mystery behind the successive withdrawal of 13 car companies?

The black swan incident at the beginning of the year is bound to have a serious impact on this year's auto market. For example, the 16th beijing international automotive exhibition, originally scheduled to be held from April 21st to April 3th, has been postponed.

Within a few days, the Geneva Motor Show originally planned to be held in Switzerland from March 5 to March 15 also received uncertain news. The reason is that 13 major automakers, including Cadillac, Citroen, Ford, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Subaru, Tata and Volvo, announced that they would not participate in this year's Geneva Motor Show. In addition, it is unknown whether the Geneva Motor Show can be held as scheduled due to health and safety considerations in a special period. At present, there is no official response, but I want to talk about the four potential obstacles of the Geneva Motor Show in combination with the current automobile market environment.

The Black Swan incident has left a question mark

Previously, a spokesman for the Geneva Motor Show said that only 1% of the tourists who participated in the auto show came from countries outside Europe, and the organizers would also carry out detailed cleaning and disinfection work on the interior of the exhibition hall, and carry out publicity activities for staff, exhibitors and tourists to reduce infection.

However, this special incident has attracted worldwide attention. A British data analysis company said that if several car companies choose to quit due to security risks, it may cause a chain reaction, which will lead to more car companies quitting, so that the auto show cannot be held normally.

The attraction of large-scale international auto shows is getting worse

The first reason mentioned above is unexpected. The following three reasons are the problems that several major international auto shows, including the Geneva Auto Show, need to face.

For example, the attraction of large-scale international auto shows is declining. Take the 219 Geneva Motor Show as an example, the number of tourists was 5,, down 2% year-on-year. The Frankfurt Motor Show, which is also an international auto show, had fewer than 6, visitors in 219, down 3% year-on-year.

Due to the obvious drop in the number of exhibitors at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 219, the German Automobile Industry Association has no choice but to change the address of the next auto show to one of three cities: Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.

why is the attraction of large-scale international auto shows decreasing so quickly? A big reason lies in the development of Internet technology. "Technology is a double-edged sword" is an apt description of this situation. On the one hand, major car companies enjoy technology dividends and develop black technology to enhance product competitiveness and sales; On the other hand, consumers can learn new car information as soon as possible by means of internet technology, and the publicity and timeliness of the auto show will be greatly reduced.

another reason is the rise of emerging markets, which has had a diversion effect.

cost control of major car companies

as we all know, a series of activities during the auto show, such as participation, exhibition arrangement, drainage and publicity, are expensive, which brings great pressure to the marketing budget of major car companies. The 13 car companies mentioned above all missed this year's Geneva Motor Show on the grounds of tight costs.

at the Frankfurt motor show in 219, BMW cut its expenses by two-thirds, and its exhibition area was reduced from 1, square meters to 3, square meters. Audi, Mercedes-Benz and other brands also announced that they would not participate in the new york Auto Show held in April this year.

During the cold winter in the global auto market, many auto companies are laying off employees and cutting costs, so as to reduce costs. In addition, brands such as BBA, even if the situation is not difficult, need to reduce costs, increase revenue and reduce expenditure as much as possible in order to obtain sufficient funds to join the electrification field and other technical fields.

at a time when every penny has to be spent on the cutting edge, major car companies are more willing to focus on auto shows in key markets and market segments, rather than large-scale international auto shows with huge expenses.

obstruction by environmentalists

In recent years, climate change has aroused continuous concern. Even though various countries have issued strict exhaust emission standards, car companies have racked their brains to reduce emissions as much as possible, but environmentalists still feel that it is far from enough.

During last year's Frankfurt Motor Show, an environmental protection organization named "GreenPeace" wore green clothes and held yellow slogans with the words "Stop driving, change the climate" and "Wilkes Wade has no climate killer" to protest in front of the exhibition hall.

It is also reported that the climate change protest organization named "Extinction Rebellion" will destroy this year's Geneva Motor Show. They held a demonstration at the Brussels Motor Show last month. The organization's protest means are various, such as blocking the street, throwing "fake blood" at the bronze bulls on Wall Street, sticking their hands on the electric bus with glue, and "flying" around the car dressed as bees.

written at the end

In any case, I still hope that this year's Geneva Motor Show can be held as scheduled, and the current auto market is full of fatigue. A large-scale auto show can glow the spirit of all car companies and all autobots. The problems behind the big auto show also need to be thought deeply by people in the industry.

This article comes from the author of Chejia, car home, and does not represent car home's standpoint.