The 79th Geneva International Motor Show: Hall 3 Will Become The Green Pavilion: A Window Onto Technologies For The Future

GENEVA, Switzerland – February 26, 2009 : The 79th edition of the Geneva International Motor Show will take place from March 5-15, 2009 at GENEVA PALEXPO. Among the many different innovations and improvements incorporated into the Show for this year will be the creation of an area reserved for small and large enterprises involved in the development of “green” technologies for vehicles.

Adjacent to Hall 4, the restaurants and the main entrance to Palexpo, Hall 3 has not often had the amount of use that it deserves. Therefore, Hall 3 will become the Green Pavilion, an area devoted to new technologies for the reduction of fuel consumption and automobile pollution, in preparation for the automobiles of tomorrow.

Structured and furnished differently from other halls in the Show, this area of nearly 2000 square meters will welcome not only well established and highly qualified enterprises in this domain, but also specialised start-ups and various institutions of higher learning. All will have the opportunity, in this specialised but global framework, to present the latest fruits of their research to the general public, and to establish contacts with the automobile manufacturers participating in the Show.

For example, you will find MCE-5, a company from Lyon that has developed a motor with variable compression which enables a reduction of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 35% without comprising the vehicle’s performance or driving pleasure. You can also discover, as a world premier, the small electric vehicles from Comarth, or check out the hybrids (electric + gasoline or GPL powered) in the form of pleasure, utility, or city vehicles, which are made by Alreda and represented by BUT S.A. from the Valais.

In the Green Pavilion you will also learn more about the work of HES-SO, the laboratories of the institute of advanced engineering of the Canton of Vaud who will be presenting their latest projects, and the institute of engineering of Geneva will show their Biomobile which runs on bio-fuel made from vegetable wastes. One of the most sensational presentations at the Pavilion will be the famous Tesla, an electric-powered sports car from California capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 4 seconds, reaching a top speed of 200 km/hr, and able to run for 390 kilometres on one charge of its batteries. And all for only 150,000 Swiss francs!

As a further bonus, in line with its key objective of education, at the Green Pavilion you can learn to drive your own automobile in the manner “econoecological” (Eco-Drive).