The Valais dealers’ own car show says it grew from 36 brands to a record 45 in three editions. We attended all three, in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and our photographs show something the figures cannot. The same garages came back every year, each time with a newer car.
A Free Show Run By The Dealers
Passion Auto Show belongs to the dealers who sell on its floor. The organiser’s releases say it is run by the dealers of central Valais with UPSA Valais and, from 2025, the events company myexpo. FVS Group is named as organiser in 2024. Entry and parking are free. The organiser calls it “le plus grand salon de voitures neuves de Suisse romande”, which is its own claim.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edition and dates | 7th, 26–28 Apr, CERM | 8th, 21–23 Mar, Martigny Expo | 9th, 27–29 Mar, Martigny Expo |
| Friday opening | 14:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Visitors (organiser) | “plus de 7500” | “10’500” | “dépassant les 9’000”, “stable” |
| Brands (organiser) | 36 | 35 | 45 |
| New models shown | “plus de 250” | “près de 150” before, “plus de 200” after | “plus de 200” |
| Partner dealers | 22 | 18 | 19 |
| First-time names | Abarth | Polestar, MG, SERES | BAIC, Forthing, IM, Ineos Grenadier, North Cape |
| Used cars | 80+ | 60+ | 100+ |
Numbers Only The Organiser Gives
All the figures above come from the organiser’s own releases, and none gives a counting method. Rhône FM relays the same communiqués, so we have no independent number.
That matters most for the headline figure. The 2026 release calls 45 brands “un nouveau record en termes d’offre”. The brand list printed in the same release shows about 37 car makes plus camper and van names. We cannot say how the 45 was counted, and it may not be comparable with 36 and 35.
What The Organiser And The Press Said
In 2025 the organiser reported that “plus de 100 véhicules, neufs et d’occasion, ont trouvé preneurs”. In 2026 it said the sales volume “est resté stable”, with no number. Show president Guy Bruchez, who directs the Garage Mistral in Martigny, described buyers who “attendent véritablement cet événement” to negotiate.
Canal9 headlined its 2024 report “l’électrique se fait discret”, and its 2026 report “électriques et hybrides ont la cote”. The 2026 piece added that new-car sales keep falling while electric and hybrid sales rise. Neither gives figures in the text we could read. Le Nouvelliste’s preview of 2025, which we could read only in its lead, said one new car in five sold in Valais is electric.
The Same Garages, A Newer Car Each Year
Sixteen garage names appear on the organiser’s partner list in all three years, by our count. The Kia dealer Cristal Garage is one, and our photographs show its stand each year: the EV9 in 2024, the EV3 in 2025 and the PV5 in 2026.
Kia Switzerland lists the EV9 at CHF 71,950 to CHF 87,450 (October 2026) and the EV3 at CHF 36,950 to CHF 58,950. The PV5 runs from CHF 38,950 to CHF 51,250, with homologation still pending on that list. Its award sticker is one of three we checked against the calendar.
The BMW dealer Urfer follows the same pattern. Our 2024 photograph is an X5 beside a banner for the electric Mini Cooper. In 2025 it was the X3, and in 2026 the Neue Klasse iX3 in show livery. BMW Switzerland’s press office puts the iX3 at CHF 69,600 for the iX3 40 to CHF 78,000 for the 50 xDrive. Those are launch “ab” prices that we have not confirmed as current.
At Autocorner, the Audi and Škoda dealer, our photographs show a Q4 e-tron in 2024, an RS 3 in 2025 and an SQ2 in 2026. Audi’s Swiss price lists could not be opened for this piece. The small Audis on that stand have their own story.
We filmed the Urfer BMW X3 M50 xDrive at Passion Auto Show Martigny 2025. Our BMW X3 M50 xDrive First Look has the full story.
We filmed the Autocorner SQ2 at Passion Auto Show Martigny 2026. Our Audi SQ2 Up Close article has the full story.
Who Arrived
New names are the organiser’s best news each year. Abarth was the novelty in 2024. In 2025 the organiser named Polestar, MG and SERES as first-time brands, and in 2026 BAIC, Forthing, IM, Ineos Grenadier and North Cape. We have no usable photographs of those stands in our sample, so we report the lists only.
Our Take
Three years of releases tell a consistent story. This is a free regional show, run by the dealers who sell on its floor, that reports visitors and brands but publishes no premieres and no independent figures. On the organiser’s own numbers, visitors went from more than 7,500 to 10,500 and then to more than 9,000, while the brand count rose.
We would treat the 45 brands as a record only once the organiser says what it counts. The next chance to ask is the 10th edition, announced for 9 to 11 April 2027.
Independent editorial. No brand or organiser paid for or reviewed this article.
