What's in store at the 2024 Paris Motor Show

Attendance at the 2022 Paris Motor Show was underwhelming, with just under 400,000 entries recorded. Image: Courtesy of Mondial de l'Auto©

After a lackluster 2022 edition, marked by the absence of many major manufacturers, the Paris Motor Show is back, from October 15 to 20, 2024. Electric vehicles will be central to the event, with many new models eagerly awaited from both French and Chinese automakers. Visitors will also be able to admire a selection of four-wheeled stars of the big and small screens.

The Paris Motor Show celebrates its 90th edition this year. At the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles exhibition center, French automakers are set to shine once again, with a host of exciting new products. In the Renault booth, for example, the R5 E-Tech and its sporty variant, the Alpine A290, will rub shoulders with the all-new R4 E-Tech, unveiled as a world premiere. Numerous other premieres have already been announced for this year's Paris Motor Show. Citroën, for example, will unveil the C4 and C4X, while Dacia will present the Bigster and Peugeot the E-408. As was the case two years ago, Chinese automakers will be heavily represented, from well-established manufacturers such as BYD, Dongfeng and Xpeng to the more mysterious Skyworth. All will be presenting models specially tailored to the European market. Finally, Tesla has also been announced on the bill, and is set to cause a sensation with its spectacular Cybertruck, which certainly isn't new, but which is still unavailable in France.

On the other hand, makers of hydrogen-powered cars, who made such an impact at the 2022 event -- including French firms Hopium and NamX -- will be conspicuous by their absence this time. And they're not the only ones. Many other manufacturers have decided to skip the event, even if Audi, BMW and Volkswagen are set to return this year. The major absentees for 2024 are Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Opel, Toyota and Volvo.

As always, a test center will enable visitors to try out numerous new vehicles on a dedicated test track. But in addition to the traditional manufacturer booths, visitors will also be able to admire an exhibition featuring no fewer than 25 emblematic vehicles from the history of cinema and television. Visitors will be able to get up close to the Batmobile, the Ford Gran Torino from “Starsky & Hutch,” the Peugeot 406 from “Taxi,” the Ferrari 308 GTS from “Magnum, P.I.” as well as “KITT” from “Knight Rider” and the DeLorean from “Back to the Future.” Another exhibition, entitled "We can't stop progress!" (“On n'arrête pas le progrès!”) celebrates the great automotive innovations of the 20th century through to the present day, featuring some 20 cars.