Geneva Car Show Is Canceled, So Car Makers Take Show Online

By William Boston

BERLIN--The Geneva Motor Show was canceled, but that's not stopping some auto makers from showing off their latest cars and futuristic concept vehicles.

BMW AG, the German luxury car maker, had planned to launch a new electric vehicle, the i4, at next week's show, the 90th anniversary of the Geneva Motor Show. Shortly after the cancellation was announced, BMW changed gears and decided to put the presentations it had planned for Geneva online in a virtual news conference.

BMW CEO Oliver Zipse will make the presentation at the time originally scheduled for the news conference in Geneva--8:15 a.m. local time on March 3--viewable in a live stream over the internet.

"Of course we understand the decision, but we also regret that the show can not take place as usual," BMW said in a statement.

Mercedes-Benz, the luxury car maker owned by Daimler AG, said it would live stream the launch of its new E-Class vehicle online at 08:45 a.m. on March 3, the time scheduled for its presentation in Geneva.

Even the Geneva show organizers are getting in on the act. The Car of the Year awards, typically the first event kicking off the show each year, will be held online on the show's website at 3 p.m. on March 2. The seven candidates for the prize this year are the BMW 1-Series, Ford Puma, Peugeot 208, Porsche Taycan, Renault Clio, Tesla Model 3, and the Toyota Corolla.

Write to William Boston at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 28, 2020 13:35 ET (18:35 GMT)

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