Europe’s international car show arrived in Paris this autumn, and the French found the recipe for success. With 60 announced brands and a full range of spectacles, the show is here to stay.
Two years ago, the Mondial Automobile brought back everything we love in a car show, and this year’s edition builds on last year’s success. To be honest, we felt a bit unsure at first, as accreditation started late. But as far as the show itself is concerned, the exhibitors are there, delivering a good show for the audience.
The Paris Car Show has a century-old tradition and is organised every even year, and in the odd years, the shift is taken over by the German International Automobile Exhibition IAA (currently residing in Munich). The show builds on the historical French tradition of world fairs and, in French, even calls itself the Automobile World Fair (Mondiale).
The venue is located on the outskirts of Paris, in the expo area by the Porte de Versailles’s metro station. There are plenty of car parks for those arriving by car, which have grown sky-high in recent years. It might be better to leave your car at an underground car park at one of the metro stations.
The Expo offers a vast choice of Halls, and since last year the Paris Car Show has been using four major halls filled with spectacles. Several manufacturers returned to Paris after a four-year absence.
Most French brands prepared impressive stages filled with premieres, exciting concepts and hospitality facilities like bars and cafes. Several stages featured little extras like Skoda’s mixer bikes, Renault’s flipper and foosball game, or the SIM centre on the stages of Ford, Honda, or Renault.
We spotted several memorabilia and accessory shops where you can buy clothing, apparel, and die-cast models. A shop with Renault or DS styling is an obvious choice, but we also spotted some unexpected shops, like the one at the BYD stage.
Most manufacturers brought special concept cars or technological demonstration models to brighten their show and attract more visitors. Renault’s stage is filled with exciting concepts, but several Stellantis Group brands also brought concepts. We particularly fell for Alfa, Opel, DS, Citroen and Peugeot.
Most manufacturers showcase premier halo cars like Denza’s new coupé or highlight elements like a drivetrain showing the flow of electricity (a strength of several Chinese exhibitors and a clear trend this year).
Traditional European companies emphasised their racing prowess, with cars from several series, like Formula 1 (Audi, Ford and Honda), Formula E (Cupra, DS and Opel) and Rallye (Ford, Lancia and Skoda).
Most major European companies attended, though most conglomerates left a few brands at home. Stellantis didn’t go all in, but they came close and delivered a really decent show this time. Alfa Romeo is back again with great coffee, and Fiat also got its own pavilion.
The VW Group also participated with several brands: we only missed Porsche and the high-end brands, though the supercar stage featured some of their supercars from the past.
The BMW Group decided to abstain,, but we got Mercedes with a fairly nice stage, even if it is far from the pre-COVID extravaganza. Some exotic brands like Tesla, Honda, or Volvo returned (sadly without Polestar), albeit with a small stage.
Since the show resurrected from COVID, Paris saw very strong participation from Chinese brands. We saw impressive stages from brands that are now sweeping (or just entering) the European markets. BYD, Geely and the Chery group built lovely stages with European premieres, but we discovered numerous brands willing to enter European markets in the coming years.
At the same time, we can’t help but notice several Chinese brands with rather questionable strategy and naming, like Avatr and Aito. And given that at least a dozen Chinese brands we saw at past car shows never made it to European showrooms since then, we can allow ourselves to be sceptical. Renting a stage here costs nearly nothing compared to running a car manufacturer.
There are also a dozen specialised manufacturers, such as microcar and utility car manufacturers.
Unlike in 2024, we did not see much from the industry this year. This is an area where Mondiale 2026 couldn’t keep up with the IAA.
But in everything else, they surely did! The organisers arranged a few special exhibitions for those who are not into buying new cars. Even if this year’s themes are somewhat behind the 2024 offering, Hall 7.1 features a supercar expo with an exceptional selection.
In the (Un)Limited space, some 700 m² is dedicated to exceptionally rare cars. The organisers managed to conjure vehicles such as the Ferrari F80, Ferrari SF90 XX, Ferrari 296 Speciale Piloti, McLaren Senna LM, Bugatti Chiron Sport, Lamborghini Centenario Roadster, and Venturi 500 LM.
On the ground floor of Hall 5.1, the Innovation Factory showcases the transformations already shaping tomorrow’s automobiles. In collaboration with major French players in the sector, this exhibition works like a science fair, providing an immersive experience offering insight into how France is innovating, investing, and taking concrete action to build mobility that is more sustainable, smarter, and more human-centred.
The show offered plenty of action and wow factor, including concerts and SIM competitions. Mondial 2026 delivered on all fronts, and while the accents and emphasis change over the years, it remained a top event of the year, on par with the Brussels Car Show and Retromobile.
