This year’s Geneva Motor Show opens its doors to the world’s press on Thursday 5 March. It’s one of the most important events in the motoring calendar, acting as a stage for some of the world’s biggest new car launches.
Naturally, the event is important for Europe’s car manufacturers, with heavy-hitting brands such as Audi, Fiat and Porsche each planning to unveil their latest vehicles. Japanese manufacturers such as Honda and Toyota will also make an appearance, with the former unveiling its facelifted Civic Type R and the latter its all-new Yaris.
• Best cars of the 2019 Geneva Motor Show
Given the automotive industry’s ongoing shift towards electromobility, the Geneva Motor Show will also play host to a range of hybrid and all-electric launches. The all-new and eagerly awaited Fiat 500 electric will make an appearance for the first time ahead of going on sale in the summer.
We’ll have a team of reporters on the show floor during the event’s press days to bring you all the latest news as it happens. For now, here’s a list of what you can expect to see.
Scroll down for all our great Geneva Motor show content…
Audi
Hot on the heels of the Mk8 Volkswagen Golf comes the new, fourth-generation Audi A3. It will undergo a minor cosmetic overhaul with a pair of slimmer LED headlamps and a new grille design. It will be sold as a five-door Sportback model only and will feature a range of new mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Honda
Honda has revised its flagship hot hatchback for 2020. While cosmetic revisions are minor, the Civic Type R’s mechanical revisions are more involved, with new dampers, tweaked front suspension geometry and a set of fade-resistant brake discs with heavy-duty brake pads.
Fiat
Fiat’s all-electric 500 will make its official debut at Geneva. The Italian brand is yet to confirm details on the new model’s powertrain, although our recent batch of spy shots suggest it’s styling won’t change drastically over today’s model. It’s expected to go on sale in the second half of this year, when it will act as a rival to the new Honda e and forthcoming MINI electric.
Mercedes
• Mercedes GLA crossover arrives to tackle BMW X2
The new GLA is bigger than ever and will go up against the BMW X2 and Audi Q2 when it hits the showrooms. It boasts a practical 421-litre boot capacity, has greater ground clearance than before and a hot AMG 45 edition, packing upwards of 400bhp, will follow.
Porsche
• Porsche 911 Turbo spied with minimal disguise
The Turbo is the crown of the Porsche 911 range and is expected to debut at Geneva. We’ve already been for a passenger ride in a development car where engineers promised in excess of 600bhp for the Turbo and 650bhp for the Turbo S from an all-new 3.8-litre flat-six.
SEAT
As a sibling of the Mk8 Volkswagen Golf, the new SEAT Leon will share its MQB underpinnings and engine range with the VW. However, unlike its German counterpart, the new Leon looks set to adopt a fairly major cosmetic redesign, with the outgoing model’s smooth panelling being ditched in favour of a more angular look.
Skoda
The new Skoda Octavia will get its widest range of high-performance variants yet, with the usual petrol and diesel options to be joined by a new 1.4-litre petrol PHEV, which should offer an all-electric range of around 30 miles.
Skoda is also expected to bring a production-ready version of its all-electric Vision iV crossover concept to Geneva, which is due to go on sale in 2021. The crossover is yet to receive a name, but it willl share the same MEB underpinnings as the recently launched Volkswagen ID.3.
Toyota
• Toyota Yaris revealed with new hybrid tech
The new Yaris has a 50mm longer wheelbase than the outgoing model despite being shorter. Toyota has also given the new car a quicker steering rack, more rigid body and softer springs while the driver sits 36mm lower than in the previous example.
Hybrid models will use a recalibrated CVT transmission with a power increase of 15 per cent expected to bring the Yaris up to around 115bhp.
Click on to the second page for more information on the Geneva Motor Show and how to plan your visit…
What is the Geneva Motor Show?
The Geneva Motor Show is held annually at the Geneva Palexpo in Switzerland, and in terms of importance for the European, and possibly global, car industry is rivalled only by the Frankfurt Motor Show and Paris Motor Show - which are held biennially in alternate years.
The Geneva show is a hotbed for European car launches, and is the stage for a clutch of the biggest new car unveilings each year. The event as a whole drew an audience of well over half a million people to come through the doors in 2019.
Dates:
The Geneva Motor Show will be open from Thursday 5 March to Sunday 15 March, with the press day on the 3 March.
Opening hours:
When the Geneva Motor Show opens its doors to the public, the halls will be accessible between 10am and 8pm. During the weekend, the hours are 9am to 7pm.
Location:
The event is held in Palexpo exhibition centre, located directly adjacent to Geneva airport. For those with a poor sense of direction, the address is: Route François-Peyrot 30, 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex.
Due to its proximity to Geneva airport, there are plenty of transport links with trains and buses running constantly from both the airport and the city. Driving is also an option if you fancy renting a car and, although the Palexpo car parks are reserved for exhibitors, car parks within 5km of the venue offer an estimated 5,000 spaces during the week and 10,000 spaces during the weekend. Just be prepared for some heavy traffic.
Tickets:
Tickets for the 2020 Geneva Motor Show are available from the event’s official website. They’re not unreasonable either, considering the breadth of displays. Adults are charged 16 Swiss Francs (about £13), pensioners, disabled people and children between the ages of six and 16 will only be charged 9 Swiss Francs (around £7). As an added benefit, there’s a 50 per cent discount on any tickets bought after 4pm on the day of entry.
Hotels:
As you can imagine, Geneva is hardly short of accommodation. Be warned, however; the hotels fill up fast when the motor show is in town, so rooms are costleir than they are during the rest of the year.
It’s a great event to pair with a ski-trip though, with plenty of resorts in the near vicinity. There’s also an official package that will get you a hotel room, free use of public transport and ticket to the show from 64 Swiss Francs per person (about £48).
Let us know which car you’re most looking forward to in the comments section below...
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