Executive Summary by Paul-Henri Matha
The Mondial de l’Auto returned to Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from 12 to 18 October, with 518,372 visitors in six days – 2 per cent more than in 2024. More than 60 carmakers and more than 100 exhibitors were there, over 60 world premieres were announced, and 6,000 test drives were completed. The organisers are already promising a longer show in 2028, with two weekends and a new venue.
The Beijing show was about technology; to me, Paris was more about heritage, price, and Europe. The night before the show opened, Stellantis unveiled six concepts at Hangar Y in Meudon, including a fully electric 2 CV announced at €15,000, while Renault revisited the 8 Gordini and the Espace. President Macron inaugurated the show, and the Élysée called on Europe to ‘finally support what it produces’ against tougher international competition. Autonomy was the other topic, with the Tesla Cybercab on show and more than 2,700 supervised L2++ automated driving rides planned for visitors on open roads, run with Deloitte.
Our Beijing report summed up the show as ‘less bling-bling, more quality’. Paris told a different story, because Stellantis and Renault Group came with concept cars (ten of the 36 vehicles we’re reporting on), and concept cars are made to shine. Heritage was the main thread: the Renault 8 Gordini integrates the auxiliary lamps of the rally car into six round headlamps, the Alpine A310 Vision – a tribute to the 1971 icon – reveals its headlamps on startup, the Citroën 2 CV has separate headlight pods, and the Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso returns to the round tail lamps of the 8C and the 33 Stradale.
What about lighting? Beyond nostalgia, I see the real message elsewhere: the light signature now replaces the grille as the face of the brand. Peugeot turn their three claws horizontal on the RCZ Vision and the E-T16, which previews the next E-208. Dacia swap their Y for a T, Opel make their Vizor taller with animated lamellas, Lancia draw their Calice, and Kia expand their Star Map from the EV2 to the EV5. Lit logos are everywhere too, from the Peugeot shield to the Opel Blitz, the Renault diamond and the Alfa Romeo Scudetto, while they were becoming rarer in Beijing. DS say they are stepping back from lit grilles, but the F3VER still carries an illuminated emblem.
