The upcoming Paris Motor Show will be marked by the notable absence of several major car makers, such as Ford, Mazda and Volvo, as well a boutique player we were looking forward to seeing, Alpine. These auto companies have shunned the French capital’s show to focus on their own special promotional events and operations in dealerships.
Volvo has been out of the picture for some time, following the last Paris Motor Show in late 2014. The firm will now focus on just one major event per continent each year, deciding to opt for the Geneva Motor Show rather than Paris for 2016.
Mazda will also be passing up on the Parisian rendezvous. Unsurprisingly, the firm doesn’t feel it gets enough visibility at such a “huge” show, where it’s hard to make an impact. What’s more, the schedule for announcing its upcoming models didn’t coincide with the timing of the Paris show. The Japanese automaker will therefore be organizing its own client marketing and communications operation during the time of the show.
The biggest blow for Paris Motor Show organizers was no doubt news that US manufacturer Ford won’t be attending the 2016 event. The manufacturer will instead be holding a series of events in dealerships in major French cities and carrying out its own promotional campaigns rather than relying on the Motor Show.
Finally, one surprise no-shower for 2016 is Alpine. Although the famous French brand made its comeback this year, Paris show-goers won’t be able to check out the new Alpine Vision, unveiled this year, with a design echoing the legendary Alpine Berlinette A110.
Nevertheless, there’ll still be almost 200 car brands heading to Paris for the event, set to showcase new models like the latest Peugeot 3008, the new Citroën C3 and the restyled Renault Clio.
In 2014, the Paris Motor Show welcomed almost 1.25 million visitors.
The Paris Motor Show runs October 1 to 16, 2016, at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France.