The Geneva International Motor Show will be open from March 8-18, 2012. For this year, a total of 180 World and European Premiers will be presented by the 260 exhibitors. As with every year, visitors will be able to discover the latest technologies and see the new models from more than 30 of the world’s major manufacturers. In addition, the winner of the Car of the Year award will be named at the Geneva International Motor Show for the first time. As a result, and more now than ever, the Geneva International Motor Show has consolidated its position amongst the world leaders of international automobile exhibitions.

With more than 260 exhibitors occupying a total of 110,000 square meters of exhibition space, the Geneva International Motor Show attracts more than 700,000 visitors each year. Thanks to the 10,000 media representatives coming from 80 countries, the 70 press conferences organised by the exhibitors are considered by the experts and exhibitors to have some of the most important influences and repercussions of the year in terms of media coverage.

For this year’s Motor Show, 140 World and European Premiers will be presented in the sectors of automobiles, specialised body designers/builders and preparation/tuning specialists, plus 40 World and European Premiers in the sectors of accessories, parts, OEM providers and garage equipment suppliers. Amongst the new exhibitors this year are Karsan, a manufacturer from Turkey, plus two preparation specialists from Germany: Gemballa and Hofele Design GmbH.

Following three years of continuous improvements in the quantity and quality of the models presented, the Green Pavilion has become a vital and must-see part of the Motor Show. Visitors can now see and even test some 20 vehicles using the latest technologies for minimising consumption, either hybrid or all electric, which will be available to drive on a special closed circuit. All of this is to be found just across from the main entrance to the Motor Show. The Green Pavilion will be open every day one hour before the opening of the rest of the Motor Show.

The President of the Geneva International Motor Show, Mr. Maurice Turrettini has announced: "For the first time the Geneva International Motor Show will be the venue for unveiling the « Car of the Year 2012 ». For nearly 50 years, the Car of the Year organisation, founded by seven specialised magazines, has selected each year the best automobile launched on the market in at least 5 European countries and having sold at least 5,000 examples in that year. The jury is composed of 59 automobile journalists.”

For the Managing Director of the Motor Show, Mr. Andre Hefti "Geneva is perhaps not the largest of the motor shows, but without doubt it is one of the most attractive and most effective events for enhancing the image of the participating manufacturers."

The Geneva International Motor Show 2012 will be open on weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and on the weekends from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. To better spread out the number of visitors during the day and to also enhance their comfort through less crowding, a discount of 50% on the price of an entry ticket will be made after 4:00 p.m.