Though not one of the top tier European new car shows like Geneva, Paris or Frankfurt, the Barcelona Auto Show has nonetheless been viewed as a large and important show for automakers competing in the Spanish market. The show’s future is in doubt, however, because General Motors, Ford , Renault, Nissan , PSA Peugeot Citroen and Volkswagen have all announced they won’t attend the show.
“The reason for this decision is that holding this type of event is not in keeping with the extremely serious situation which the sector is going through,” ANFAC, the Spanish automakers’ association, said in a statement.
The biennial show, which is scheduled for May 9-17, typically hosts about 1 million visitors and is organized by the OICA, the federation of automakers that coordinates the most important global auto shows, including Detroit, Geneva, Bologna, Paris and Frankfurt.
