Every Manufacturer Going To The 2024 Geneva Motor Show, And Those Who Aren’t

There was a time in the past, back when most people would think you’d asked for a mint if you mentioned TikTok and suggesting a 300bhp all-wheel-drive Yaris would draw confused looks, that the Geneva Motor Show ruled the roost.

It was the place to be for any manufacturer, the crowning event in the industry’s year which would see floods of new cars, genuine shocks and the odd laughing stock.

However, as with a lot of things, the outbreak of COVID-19 means the 2019 Geneva Motor Show currently stands as the last to take place. That’s ignoring a questionable expansion into Qatar last year, anyway.

The event is back on February 26 though, and now the list of attendees is out. Spoiler alert: it’s looking pretty sparse.

Who is going to the Geneva Motor Show?

BYD

Chinese EV giant BYD is really making a push for Europe. In the last year alone, it’s released the Atto 3, Seal and Dolphin and shows no signs of slowing its expansion down, even if initial sales haven’t quite been all that.

It’ll be one of two manufacturers from China, although there’s no indication of what it’ll be displaying yet. We’re not expecting anything earth-shattering, but you never know. We’ll take bets on an SUV named Megalodon.

Dacia

Unlike most attendees, Dacia will be bringing some genuinely interesting new bits to Geneva.

The first of those will be the updated version of the Spring, a tiny EV designed to be the cheapest way to get an electric car - and no, the Citroen Ami isn’t a car. The original Spring was only sold in Europe, but we’ll get this new version in Europe, which is expected to have a fresh look and more equipment. Hopefully, an improvement on its 137-mile WLTP range figure.

The Renault-owned Romanian firm will bring the new Duster along too, marking its first public debut since being revealed to the media in November.

Isuzu

Isuzu’s presence at the Geneva Motor Show may be the strangest of the lot. After all, it only sells one vehicle in Europe - the D-Max - which isn’t exactly flooding the sales charts.

We’re not expecting a new generation of the pick-up anytime soon either, having entered its third generation in 2019. If there is to be anything revealed, it’ll presumably be an EV version of the D-Max.

Kimera Automobili

We’re big fans of Kimera at CT. How can you not be? Anyone willing to scratch-build a run of Lancia 037 tributes deserves praise in our eyes.

It will be revealing a new version of the car at Geneva this year too, named the Evo38. A sole teaser silhouette on its website suggests it’ll be an evolution of the already-existing Evo37, which we’re not upset about.

Expect more power from its 2.1-litre twin-charged four-cylinder, already producing 542bhp in its most potent form, as well as more extreme aero.

Lucid

We’re yet to see Lucid dip into the UK new car market, but the American Tesla rival has been selling its Air saloon in Europe for the best part of two years now.

We’re not expecting to see any brand-new models from them in Geneva, rather, it could serve as a chance for it to showcase the Gravity SUV on the continent.

MG

MG is the other brand from China attending although, unlike BYD, it doesn’t have a lot to prove in Europe at this stage.

We’ll see a a much-needed new version of the MG3 on display, with the current version having been on sale since 2011 albeit with a couple of facelifts. We’d presume this to be electric-only, but there’s a chance a petrol option could be crammed in too.

Renault

Rounding out the list of manufacturers showing face in Geneva is Renault, and perhaps it’ll have the most notable car of the lot there.

It’ll use the show to reveal the Renault 5, after seemingly years of anticipation. We’ve seen a few teasers of the car recently, showing the production version will carry a lot of the original concepts’ styling touches.

Who isn’t going?

As you’ve probably noticed, the list of manufacturers absent from the show far outstrips those going - a far cry from Geneva’s glory days.

The entirety of the Volkswagen Group is missing, with the German giant shifting pretty much all of its big reveals to digital. We’ve just seen the Mk8.5 Volkswagen Golf, which would’ve been big news at shows past. Neither BMW nor Mercedes are attending either.

Stellantis is completely absent from the show too, despite having about a million European brands under its wing these days. None of the Japanese big hitters will be there, with no sight of Toyota, Nissan or Mazda.

Ford is a no-show, as is Jaguar Land Rover. Then again, JLR missed out on 2019 too, so that’s perhaps not all that surprising.

There’s even an absence of standalone supercar manufacturers. McLaren and Ferrari have been mainstays of the show in years gone by, but neither are there, with the even more niche brands like Koenigsegg or Pagani notable absentees. That’s surprising, as Geneva is seen by a lot of hypercar manufacturers as a good place to secure custom from wealthy visitors.

As much as its organisers are ensuring the Geneva Motor Show cheats death, it’s seemingly stuck on life support.