The « New World of Transportation » at the Green Pavilion

The Green Pavilion could not be better located – in the natural environment of the Sarasin Park but also directly across from the main entrance of the Motor Show. A visit to the Green Pavilion 2012 and taking a test drive on the adjacent circuit allows you to discover and experience leading edge technologies, the latest developments in electric vehicles from renowned designers such as Philippe Starck, plus the numerous products from the major auto constructors who have succeeded in creating and launching ecological vehicles in a very short time.

For the last three years, the Geneva International Motor Show has been the first international motor show to create a space specifically dedicated to the theme of new technologies of alternative and ecological propulsion and to renewable energy sources for vehicles: The Green Pavilion.  From the start, visitors would find highly qualified and specialised small enterprises and start-ups who were presenting their vision of individual transportation options that were very futuristic.  These days, the major auto constructors are taking advantage of this occasion to present their concepts that are moving towards production.  A visit to the Green Pavilion has become a must and you can now take test drives in the latest models on a special circuit or on the open road.

The Green Pavilion will be open one hour before the opening of the other exposition halls of the Motor Show, at 9:00 a.m. on weekdays and at 8:00 a.m. on weekends, which is good news for early birds!  A bistro next to the Pavilion will have drinks and snacks available for you before your visit to the Motor Show, which can be reached by an outside ramp leading directly into Hall 1 of Palexpo.


World Premiers and new models to be presented at the Green Pavilion 2012

More than 20 exhibitors will come together to present many new models and ideas.  World Premiers to be on show will be the Vito E-CELL from Mercedes-Benz, the Z.O.E. from Renault and the first electric vehicle designed by Philippe Starck, the Volteis by Starck, which is actually still under a press embargo.

Nissan will present its Leaf, the « Car of the Year 2011«, and Opel will have its Ampera, the « Swiss Car of the Year ».  At Ford the Focus sub-90 will be shown, Toyota will have its Prius Plug-in Hybrid and Citroen’s C-Zero will be on exhibition.

A World Premier on two wheels – the E-Bike EF01 250 – can be see on the EH Line stand.  Belumbury, a new exhibitor from Italy, will present their electric vehicle “Dany”.  A large stand at the centre of the Green Pavilion will be devoted to the Department of the Yvelines in France, whose three enterprises Lumeneo, Synerghetic, and AAA Industries will be presenting their very advanced vehicles under the names of Neoma, Titler, and Moduleo.

Under the label EVC, visitors will find the EVC-S5 (Skoda Roomster Elecktro) the futuristic motorcycle ZeroTracer, as well as new means of urban transport such as the Solo Wheel and the electric scooter from DXS.
Johnson Controls, the world’s largest producer of lithium-ion batteries, will present a World Premier for this sector.  Apollo, another supplier to the automobile industry will present their project developing a new technology for tyres.

Nokia, with an ecological navigation system and a hybrid street light – EVC – installed in the Sarasin Park beside the bistro, will be demonstrating how ecology can be applied to high technology and to the infrastructure.

The Swiss Transport Museum, in collaboration with the Geneva International Motor Show, will be running a competition with prizes for inventiveness intended for students and enterprises. The objective is to achieve zero emissions and a maximum of pleasure during their thinking process, which is a real challenge for all inventors.


The latest electric vehicles and hybrids will be available for test drives.

Located right next to the Green Pavilion, at least a dozen constructors will make available some 30 vehicles to be tested and compared.  Depending upon the make or model a road test on a closed circuit or on the open road will be offered.  Reservations can be made at their stands in the Green Pavilion or directly at the vehicles available at the Green Road Tests area.  Reservations can also be made at the main stands of the participating constructors in the Motor Show.  Detailed information is available at the official website of the Motor Show: www.salon-auto.ch.

Among the different test vehicles will be electric cars such as the Mitsubishi i-Miev, all of the electric models from Renault which include the Fluence Z.E., the Kangoo Z.E., and the humorous Twizy, the C-Zero from Citroen, the Vito E-Cell from Mercedes-Benz, the Bluecar presented by Bollore, the Ford Transit Connect Electric powered by Johnson Controls, the Ford Focus Electric, plus the Mia L from Mia Electric.  EVC will be make available two electric vehicles, the EVC-R3 and the AVC-R5, based on a Skoda platform.  A test of the DXS electric scooter will also be possible.

An interesting solution for electric-powered transportation with an extended driving range will be presented by Opel with its Ampera, which will also be available to test.  The latest progress in hybrid technologies can be experienced at Toyota with their Prius Plug-in Hybrid and at Citroen with the DS5 Hybrid4.