PARIS: After a pandemic-related hiatus for two years, the Paris Motor Show is opening its doors again with a focus on the switch to electric mobility and research into alternative fuels, notably hydrogen.
Visitors at the Oct 17-24 Paris car show - one of the most visited trade fairs in the world - are also expected to see the increasing impact of AI in cars in the use of driver assistance systems.
Starting on Monday with a visit from French president Emmanuel Macron, the 89th edition of the auto show is set to showcase a new approach aimed at reviving the flagging platform of car shows with an experience-oriented format.
Organisers are trying to lure visitors back with a new visitor circuit, an extended daily programme and more opportunities than before to get up close and personal with the new vehicles.
Although it counted one million visitors in 2018, many of which came to test drive upcoming releases, the Paris Motor Show is not immune to the creeping decline of horsepower parades.
Visitors will have to do without a number of brands this year, and German manufacturers are among those largely ignoring the so-called Mondial de l'Auto.
VW, Audi and BMW will not be in Paris, and Mercedes will not be at the show, although it is staging an event in the city.
