China’s COVID scare ends chance of Beijing autoshow this year – organiser

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Nov 10 (Reuters) – The Beijing International Automobile Exhibition will not be held this year due to the COVID-19 situation in the country, the organiser of China’s most important auto fair said in a notice on Thursday.

The organisers had previously postponed the autoshow, which was originally scheduled to be held in late April, due to a flare up of COVID cases in China.

The trade show in the world’s largest auto market alternates each year between Beijing and Shanghai, and traditionally attracts both international and domestic automakers, including Volkswagen(VOWG_p.DE), Toyota(7203.T), and Geely(0175.HK).

t is often used to launch new models, though some new electric vehicle brands like Nio have turned to separate events, mostly online, for their launches.

The Beijing autoshow was also postponed in 2020, when it was shifted from April to September due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Reporting by Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh in Shanghai and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jan Harvey & Simon Cameron-Moore