Geneva Motor Show 2024: full preview of this year’s more compact event

The 2024 Geneva Motor Show opens its doors on Monday 26 February, for the first time in five years. The event last took place in 2019 – before the coronavirus pandemic forced organisers to cancel the 2020 expo just days before the doors were due to open. 

Compared with previous occasions, this year’s Geneva Motor Show will be an altogether more modest affair; just four major manufacturers are confirmed to attend. There will be big debuts from Dacia, Renault and MG, while fellow Chinese powerhouse BYD will use the event to announce cars like the Seal U plug-in hybrid and Land Rover-rivalling Yangwang U8 for the European market.

Other launches are planned, from the likes of Lucid – a US luxury electric car maker – and Silence - an electric mobility company fronted by ex-Jaguar Land Rover executive John Edwards. Read on for all you need to know.

BYD means business. Already selling more cars than Volkswagen in its home market of China, the brand arrived in the UK and Europe last year and has already launched three distinct models.

It’ll look to bolster its presence with the launch of its first non-EV – the plug-in hybrid BYD Seal U. We’ve already driven the Skoda Kodiaq-rivalling SUV, and came away impressed by the newcomer’s breadth of talents. If the price is right, it could really throw the cat amongst the pigeons in the electrified family car segment.

In addition to the Seal U, BYD will use the 2024 Geneva Motor Show to bring its Yangwang luxury sub-brand to Europe, showing off the Land Rover Defender-inspired U8 electric SUV. The Yangwang U8’s party piece is a tank turn function that allows the huge off-roader to rotate on its axis by spinning the wheels in opposite directions.

Dacia has made waves in Europe in recent years, with its refreshing, value-focused approach to building cars. But until now it has resisted selling its bargain Spring small car in the UK; the existing sub-€20,000 EV has a 26.8kWh battery for a range of around 130 miles.

This year’s Geneva Motor Show will mark the public debut for Dacia’s heavily revised Spring – and with it comes the confirmation that it’ll be sold in the UK later this year. Expect a completely new look, plus upgraded