(Bloomberg) -- Geneva International Motor Show, once the car industry’s most important European event, will be canceled after disappointing participation by auto brands and visitors.

Only five auto brands ended up being present at the last edition in February while major carmakers like Stellantis NV, Ferrari NV and BMW AG didn’t attend. The 168,000 visitors fell well short of the 200,000 expected by organizers and local authorities.

Held the first time in 1905, the automotive fair used to attract some 500,000 visitors in the past. 

“The lack of interest shown by manufacturers in the Geneva Salon in a difficult industry context, the competition from the Paris and Munich shows which are favored by their domestic industry, and the investment levels required to maintain such a show, sound the final blow for a future edition,” Alexandre de Senarclens, president of the foundation that organized the show, said in the statement on Friday. The Geneva event will therefore be “discontinued” while a sister fair in Doha, Qatar, is confirmed for November 2025. 

The board of the organizing committee will formally seek authorization from local authorities to dissolve the foundation, he said. It is another blow for Geneva, after its role as a seat of international diplomacy has been diminished by the Swiss decision to adopt Russian sanctions against Ukraine and by the rise of Middle Eastern countries as mediators in global conflicts.

Renault SA’s namesake brand, its no frills Dacia brand, China’s BYD Co., SAIC Motor Corp.-owned MG Motors and Lucid Group Inc. were the only car brands attending this year’s show in Geneva, which was revived after a four-year hiatus linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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As the only European manufacturer present, Renault had the biggest exhibition space, helping the brand garner extra attention for the new Renault 5 E-Tech. The Geneva car show was once a key date for ultra-luxury brands like Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. and Ferrari NV.

Michael Shu, managing director of BYD Europe, was furious about the low turnout in Geneva. In an interview in February he put in doubt BYD’s attendance at the planned show in Paris later this year.

The next European show will take place in Paris from Oct. 14 to 20. Renault, Stellantis’s Peugeot, Citroën and Alfa Romeo, BMW and China’s Xpeng Inc. are among car brands that have confirmed their presence to Bloomberg.

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