The Paris Motor Show is among the oldest motor shows in the world, having celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1998. This year saw a number of innovations in a variety of fields - in the exhibition layout, changes to the show hours, new events, among others. The theme of the show was to "make the visit more comfortable and offer an even richer show."

As in the previous years, the show was held at the Paris Expo, which is a short distance away from the center of Paris and easily accessible by subway, tram, bus, taxi or car. The site covers a large area, and as there are multiple independently situated exhibit halls, the venue is equipped with moving sidewalks between halls and at slopes. Total exhibit area for passenger car manufacturers increased from the previous 55,000m2 to 63,000m2 due to the renovation of Hall 5 in 2004, allowing more manufacturers to exhibit at this show. This year’s new participants to the show included manufacturers from Romania and China, as well as the Dodge brand of the Chrysler Group.

One of the goals of the Paris Motor Show is to attract the highest number of visitors among the world’s major motor shows. Two years ago, the show recorded more than 1.46 million visitors; however, the number dropped this year to 1.43 million, perhaps owing to the increase in ticket prices (from 10 Euro to 12 Euro). Nevertheless, there is no mistaking the fact that this is one of the world’s top-tier motor shows. When we visited on the last Saturday of the show period, it was extremely crowded, making it exceedingly difficult to take photos of popular automobile exhibits.
The show hours were shortened by 2 hours for Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, closing at 8 p.m.

There were also a number of special events for visitors to enjoy, including an exhibit of a collection of famous classic cars owned by museums and individual collectors in France, as well as indoor test rides of electric carts, test rides of real rally cars, and driver competition using racing games.

As for the exhibits themselves, major manufacturers implemented a bold booth layout owing to the availability of ample exhibit space. The local French manufacturers especially showed elaborate booth designs.

As for Japanese exhibitors, all of the passenger car manufacturers (Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Daihatsu and Suzuki) participated, showing the level of effort they put into this show with World Premiere announcements.
The entire show had a total of 70 World Premieres, with concept cars taking center stage of the show. World Premieres by Japanese manufacturers also attracted attention, included Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-7, Nissan Qashqai, Lexus LS, Toyota Hilux, Suzuki Splash and Daihatsu D-Concept.

The colorful Paris Motor Show, which took place during the best time of the season, drew a wide range of visitors, from families, the young to the elderly. It was a wonderful show where the history and tradition of Europe was felt even in the level of interest the visitors showed for automobiles.