2024 Geneva motor show was small but worthy

The Scenic scooped the award in the end, a good start to the day for Renault at a show where it dominated the headlines with the unveiling of the 5. 

Watching the COTY announcement, it was just as intriguing people-watching in the crowd, as representatives from Toyota and BYD soon disappeared when it became clear they weren’t going to win.

Most of the seven shortlisted car makers had senior executives on hand to lift the trophy should they have won.

Linda Jackson

One such executive was Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson, who was there to see the new Peugeot 3008 take third place in the COTY final running order.

I interviewed her in a meeting room near to where in Geneva shows past a thriving media centre was sited. The proverbial tumbleweeds were blowing through this area of the Palexpo centre, and the Peugeot team (and Jackson herself) kept having to wave their hands to activate the motion-detected lights coming back on.

Still, Jackson was in fine form, promising a revolution to the interior of future models. Peugeot has increasing confidence and a growing track record of improving the quality and design of its interiors and is making that a key focus in development. “Not only is it a major reason for customers buying cars, but it’s also something we score higher on when compared to our competitors,” she said. 

It’s a very handy advantage with the rise of EVs, as there will be far fewer differentiators between cars sharing largely similar technology. Interiors are one of few places you can win in a meaningful way. 

Mobilize V2G tech

Two appointments on the Renault stand, first with Mobilize boss Gianluca De Ficchy and then with design chief Gilles Vidal.

It’s easy to get carried away with the design of the 5, but to do so would be to overlook some key technology developments. Among them are the introduction of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging technology, which De Ficchy believes is a very real solution to what will be a growing problem of energy storage. 

“Already today, there are several weeks of the year across all European countries where the price of energy is negative. You want to sell, you have to pay," he said. 

"This phenomenon will grow exponentially,” he believes, as energy production increases in line with demand.

V2G allows electric cars to give back energy to the grid and the owner to be paid for it. “This will make electric cars more affordable,” said De Ficchy. 

It’s complicated, requiring new contracts and deals with the grid, domestic energy suppliers and the customer, and you will need a new home charger that’s V2G-compatible, but Renault is working on offering this for the 5’s UK launch next year. 

Renault 5 

Renault dominated the Geneva show both with share of voice and physical footprint, but stands from Chinese brands MG and BYD were in its eyeline.

With Jackson’s comments on design fresh in my mind, I asked Vidal if distinctive design can help see off the threat of China.

“For me, it’s the key to success or possibly even survival in the future,” came the empathic response.

Lucid

It's always a spectacle to be in the company of maverick Peter Rawlinson, the former Lotus and Tesla engineer who now leads Lucid.

Questions about its development as a brand aside, what can't be disputed is the technology that the American manufacturer has created – what Rawlison calls a “miniaturisation” of electric car running gear.

The result is efficiency that’s a good 25% better than Tesla's, which is already impressive, and a chunk ahead again of legacy car makers'.

Efficiency is so important, as it’s a way of allowing smaller batteries to be fitted to electric cars and dramatically bring down the size and therefore cost of the battery needed to propel them.