Coronavirus could spell the end of car shows already heading for demise

Geneva Motor Show cancelled for first time since Second World War last week, forcing industry players to be creative in displaying new products

Brands can spend as much as $20m on a car show, whereas a Bentley spokesman said the company spent 'a fraction' of that to take journalists on a driving tour and stream the experience on a live video feed instead. Photo: ReutersShow less

On Tuesday, February 25, Bentley executives were mobilising to debut the $2 million (Dh7.3m) Bacalar at the Geneva Motor Show, announcing with the one-of-12 grand tourer their plan to double down on custom cars as the figurehead of the company’s business model.

By that Friday, the show was cancelled after fears of the coronavirus led Swiss officials to ban gatherings of more than 1,000 people. It was the first time the show had been cancelled since Second World War.

So, the 100-year-old car company improvised. Staffers took the journalists they had planned to host at the show on a seven-car driving tour instead. The route started in London, skipped through Scotland, stopped by an abandoned airport runway for 257km-plus petal-to-the-metal runs, and ended with an intimate dinner and Bacalar debut at brand headquarters back in Crewe, England. The rest of the world watched the unveiling via live video feed.

“It was one of the best weekends and lessons in versatility I’ve seen in recent time,” says communications head Erin Bronner, who spearheaded the brand’s efforts to salvage the debut of Bentley’s new cars.

What has happened with cancelling the Geneva show has happened against the backdrop of car makers already looking at the alternative platforms for vehicle introductions.

Instead of reinforcing the notion that car brands must be present at the customary trade events, the coronavirus looks to be proving the opposite.

"What has happened with cancelling the Geneva show has happened against the backdrop of car makers already looking at the alternative platforms for vehicle introductions," says Stephanie Brinley, the principal automotive analyst for IHS Markit research company. "This gave them an opportunity to test some things out they might not have done this particular year."

Geneva was supposed to be immune. Held annually in March since 1905, the show is the most glamorous of the world’s motor trade shows, the place where such iconic cars as the Ferrari 250 California Spider, Porsche 904, Lamborghini Diablo and Jaguar E-Type were first seen.

This year, McLaren, Bugatti and Aston Martin – as well as the European brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz – had reserved their glitziest debuts for the event. Historically, thousands of journalists from all corners of the globe descend on Geneva’s Palexpo convention centre for three days of news conferences, executive roundtables and corporate dinners.

But in a social media-obsessed environment, the pillars sustaining the need for a car show had already started to wobble. Endless press briefings at automotive trade shows were once deemed exclusive but now are streamed simultaneously worldwide. Near-meaningless product embargoes are often broken by influencers, while trained journalists play by the rules.

It is similar to what has happened in the fashion industry, where live video streams and the impact of influencers demanding – and being granted – front-row billing at the expense of magazine editors and news journalists has nearly erased the benefit to many brands of holding live runway shows at all.

Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Ford and others had already planned to skip Geneva altogether, even before the virus became front-page news. Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti have been skipping the lesser auto shows for years.

Last year, organisers pushed Detroit’s car show from its customary January date to June, hoping the warmer weather would prove more alluring to the vendors, journalists and brands that justify its existence. Last week, organisers cancelled the Frankfurt Auto Show. The Beijing Auto show has been postponed indefinitely, due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

“It is a turning point,” says Mike Dean, the head of the European automotive equity research team at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Maybe it just pushes us along a bit, towards where we are already headed. We’ll wait and see.”

Bentley is reconsidering its entire commitment.

The cost of the quickly put together drive “was a fraction” of what the brand would typically have spent at an auto show, says one Bentley spokesman, and the debuts drew stellar reviews nonetheless. Brands can spend as much as $20m on the cost of building a booth, hosting media, transporting cars, housing staff and the usual marketing.

But it only costs a few million dollars to host VIPs, clients and friends of the brand at exclusive events – and returns a higher sell-through rate. “It’s still very early to tell the overall [return on investment] and impact,” says the Bentley spokesperson. “But coverage of our newest debuts, including the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar and the Mulliner GT Convertible, have received great praise.”

The same goes for McLaren, which debuted its track-happy, bone-thin 765LT coupe via live video feed from company headquarters in Woking, England. The car was turned around halfway to Geneva and sent back to Woking to be unveiled outside, on the main boulevard in front of McLaren’s factory.

“We made the best of a difficult situation,” says Roger Ormisher, McLaren vice president of communications. “But no decisions about future participation in motor shows have been made at this stage.”

Many car makers posted their Geneva debuts on social media and other digital platforms. The Aston Martin V12 Speedster, BMW i4 Concept, Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport and Hispano-Suiza Carmen Boulogne all saw the light of day despite the cancellation. Koenigsegg gave Top Gear a YouTube tour of its Gemera debut inside the empty Geneva convention centre while workers deconstructed half-built stands and lighting structures.

The New York International Auto Show, slated to start on April 7 in midtown Manhattan, will continue as planned, organisers say. As of now, the debuts of more than 50 new vehicles remain scheduled. Bugatti has said it will show a new car that was intended for Geneva. Ford will debut its much-anticipated new modern Bronco.

Back in Geneva, event organisers have found a temporary solution: A virtual press day of their own to show off the new Porsche Turbo S, Koenigsegg Gemara and Automobili Pininfarina Battista Anniversario up close, for free and on repeat. And you won’t even have to fight the crowds.