The biennial Paris Auto Show is well under way and, after wrapping up all the official presentations during the press days on Thursday and Friday, how about we sit back and take a look at what transpired on the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles’ floors through the photographer’s lens?
In our book, this year’s show was characterized first, by the mass proliferation of SUVs and – to a lesser extent, yet nonetheless, indicative of where the industry is heading – electric vehicles, and b) prominent absences in the list of exhibitors that included Ford, Bentley, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Subaru, and Volvo, and compared to previous years, important world premieres (i.e. BMW skipped the debut of the next 5-Series).
As if it wasn’t already clear, consumers have overwhelmingly embraced SUVs and crossovers in every mainstream category. In Paris, automakers catered to their needs, from transformations such as Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class estate that was turned into the All-Terrain and Peugeot’s 3008 and 5008 duo that were reborn as SUVs, to new and future additions like Skoda’s Kodiaq, Renault’s Koleos and BMW’s X2, and replacements of existing models, including the new Land Rover Discovery and Audi Q5.
On the electric vehicle front, aside from conceptual and production debuts like Renault’s impressive Formula-E-powered Trezor study and the Opel Ampera-e (European sibling of the Chevrolet Bolt), the biggest news to come out of Paris were the announcements from Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen to enhance their lineups with dedicated battery-powered models before the end of the decade.
There were also performance-orientated model and sports car debuts, but not as near as many as we would have liked, the most notable being the near-production Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai’s RN30 Concept, Ferrari’s LaFerrari Aperta and GTC4 Lusso T and Mercedes-AMG’s GT additions.
You can share your thoughts on the show and tell us which vehicles topped your list in the comments below. If you want a more in-depth look of the introductions, head over to our A-to-Z Paris Auto Show guide here.
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