In 2016, the Paris Motor Show welcomed 1,253,513 visitors, making it the most visited auto show in the world, ahead of Tokyo and Frankfurt.
The key figures of the show are: 125,000m2 (1,350,000sqft) of exhibition, 8 pavilions, 260 brands from 18 countries, 65 world premieres, more than 10 000 test drives for electric and hybrid cars, more than 10 000 journalists from 103 countries.[2] Until 1986, it was called the Salon de l'Automobile; it took the name Mondial de l'Automobile in 1988 and Mondial Paris Motor Show in 2018.
The show was held annually until 1976; since which time, it has been held biennially.
The show was the first motor show in the world, started in 1898 by industry pioneer, Jules-Albert de Dion. After 1910, it was held at the Grand Palais in the Champs-Élysées. During the First World War motor shows were suspended, meaning that the show of October 1919 was only the 15th "Salon".[3]
There was again no Paris Motor Show in 1925, the venue having been booked instead for an Exhibition of Decorative Arts.[4] In October 1926, the Motor Show returned, this being the 26th Paris Salon de l'Automobile.[4] The outbreak of war again intervened in 1939 when the 33rd Salon de l'Automobile was cancelled at short notice.[5]
Normality of a sorts returned some six years later and the 33rd "Salon" finally opened in October 1946. In January 1977, it was announced that no Paris Motor Show would take place that year, because of the "current economic situation": at the same time the organisers confirmed that a 1978 Auto Salon for Paris was planned.[6]
1919 15th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1920) The first "Salon" since 1913.[8]
9 October 1919
65 French automobile makers exhibited (plus 22 French commercial vehicle manufacturers and 31 non-French automobile industry businesses). At least 118 exhibitors in total.
1920s
There was no "Salon de l'Automobile" in 1920
1921 16th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1922)
1922 17th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1923)
4 October 1922
81 French automobile makers exhibited (plus one French commercial vehicle manufacturer, 7 "Coachbuilders" and 25 non-French automobile industry businesses.) 113 exhibitors in total.
1923 18th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1924)
1924 19th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1925)
2 October 1924
78 French automobile makers exhibited (plus four French commercial vehicle manufacturers and 34 non-French automobile industry businesses.) 116 exhibitors in total.
There was no "Salon de l'Automobile" in 1925 due to the venue having been allocated to an Exhibition of Decorative Arts
1926 20th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1927)[9]
7 October 1926
81 French automobile makers exhibited and 42 non-French automobile industry businesses exhibited. 126 exhibitors in total
1927 21st "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1928)
1928 22nd "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1929)
1929 23rd "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1930)
1930s
1930 24th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1931)[10]
2 October 1930
46 French automobile makers and 46 non-French automobile makers exhibited. 92 exhibitors in total.
1931 25th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1932)
1 October 1931
39 French automobile makers and 37 non-French automobile makers exhibited. 79 exhibitors in total.
1932 26th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1933)
1933 27th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1934)
5 October 1933
26 French automobile makers exhibited.
1934 28th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1935)
1935 29th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1936)
1936 30th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1937)
1937 31st "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1938)
7 October 1937
22 French automobile makers exhibited.
1938 32nd
1940s
No shows were held from 1939 until 1945
1946 33rd
1947 34th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1948)
23 October 1947
27 French automobile makers exhibited.
1948 35th
1949 36th
1950s
1950 37th
1951 38th "Salon de l'Automobile" (Model Year 1952)
"Paris Motor Show". Auto Express. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2016. The Paris Motor Show – or Mondial de l'Automobile – is one of the most important shows in the automotive calendar. It takes place only on even-numbered years, with the Frankfurt Motor Show, held at the Frankfurt Messe, taking over on odd-numbered years.
Saviem PX40 (1978): Dernière revanche![The final revenge!], Altaya: Camions d'autrefois (in French), vol.64, Barcelona: Editorial Planeta deAgostini, 2010, p.4