Coronavirus could kill off the Geneva auto show

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THE GENEVA AUTO SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR

NEWYORK: On Tuesday, February 25, Bentley executives were mobilising to debut the $2 million Bacalar at the Geneva Auto 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 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 canceled since World War II.

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 whisky tastings in Scotland, stopped by an abandoned airport runway for 160 mph-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.

Instead of reinforcing the notion that automotive 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 automakers already looking at the alternative platforms for vehicle introductions,” says Stephanie Brinley, the principal automotive analyst for IHS Markit, an automotive research firm.

This year, Mclaren, Bugatti, and Aston Martin had reserved their glitziest debuts for the event.

But in a social media-obsessed environment, the pillars sustaining the need for an auto 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.