With the spread of Coronavirus outbreak in Europe recently, the Swiss Federal Council issued an announcement last week stating that the 2020 Geneva Motor Show will be cancelled. In the country, there have been more than 650 cases and 17 casualties, and such a decision was mandatory.

The organizers of the show have also confirmed that the most important auto show of the year will be put off and not postponed. This is what they stated in a press conference the other days:

“The Federal Council’s top priority is to protect the population,” the authorities said in their statement. “It is responding to the latest developments in the coronavirus epidemic and has categorized the situation in Switzerland as ‘special’ in terms of the Epidemics Act.”

They also said that they regret the situation, as this is a “force majeure” to protect all the participants against the virus. GIMS also stated that “the show cannot be postponed. It`s not possible. It`s too big. It`s not feasible.”

Scheduled for an official opening on March 2, the organizers have asked the exhibitors to dismantle their auto stands by March 7, with all the tickets sold being refunded. It is quite a drastic decision, especially since carmakers all over the world have put their efforts into setting up the scenes to display their latest creations.

As aforementioned, the 2020 Geneva Motor Show will not be postponed, meaning that each carmaker will have to switch to live streams to reveal their new products. On that regard, organizers have also declared:

“A few days before the opening of the event, the construction of the stands was very nearly complete. A week ago, during the press conferences announcing the 2020 edition, there was nothing to suggest that such a measure was necessary. The situation changed with the appearance of the first confirmed coronavirus diseases in Switzerland and the injonction of the Federal Council on 28.02.2020. The event is cancelled due to this decision.”

From A-to-Z, the 2020 Geneva Motor Show should have offered quite a display, with exciting new and revolutionary cars; however, we will keep you posted along the way and offer a closer look at what carmakers have to offer via online streaming.

First off, there are plenty of new electric cars debuting in Geneva, like Fiat`s brand-new 500 which is now fuelled by a powerful battery, while BMW`s i4 sports car is fully tweaked with the latest gadgetries.

Still on the German counterpart, Audi is ready to display the new A3 Series, already previewed a couple of weeks ago, while Volkswagen is putting out the brand-new Golf GTI with impressive performance. The long-awaited Mercedes-Benz E-Class fleet will also be revealed with design improvements and new engines.

On the sports car section, Porsche is ready to unleash the exciting 911 Turbo and Turbo S in coupe and convertible styles, while Alfa Romeo will reveal the new Giulia GTA, and the Stelvio Ti ‘6C Villa d`Este’.

Second, the supercar segment will offer premium products, such as the McLaren 765LT or the road supercar concept Espera Sbarro Saetta. Let`s not forget the tuning segment with exciting new programs that will be revealed in the following days.