Geneva - 6 March 2017

1. Various of car at Pagani booth at the Geneva Motor Show

2. Wide of MTM showing Bentley cars

3. Tilt up of car

4. Exterior of Palexpo in Geneva where the motor show is taking place

5. Various of signs for motor show

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tim Stevens, presenter of the Roadshow on CNET:

"Well, Geneva is definitely about higher-end cars. So we will see a lot of super cars make their debuts here. Cars in the 200-300 thousand dollar price range. Cars with hundreds and hundreds of horse power. High speed. Exotic materials. A lot of performance. It is really a lot of what Geneva is about. You see some of those beautiful cars here on display. But we will be seeing some more attainable cars too. We are seeing some new SUVs being displayed here as well, some new technologies as well that may make cars more efficient and more economical in the future. So it will be a nice blend of technologies we'll see here at the show this year."

7. Wide tilt of Zenvo car

8 . Tilt up of car

9. Pan of David Brown Automotive booth

10. Various of Sbarro booth

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Matt DeLorenzo, Managing editor for Kelley Blue Book auto analyst organisation:

"Well, two things to look at at the Geneva Motor Show this year are the appearance of high-end specialty built cars. Like the Ferrari 812 Superfast. This is a show that normally appeals to high net worth individuals so you will see a lot of these very special high performance cars here. McLaren is going to have an all new car, replacing the 650 S. And Porsche is going to do an update of the 911 GT3, and they are also showing sort of a station wagon version of the Panamera which is all new for them."

12. Various of Opel stand with cars covered before opening

13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tim Stevens, presenter of the Roadshow on CNET:

"General motors have just confirmed that they are selling their European brands to PSA, to Peugeot group. It is a pretty major development for General Motors, you know, as they try to strive towards more profitability. Those brands have always been money losers for them effectively. They haven't really been able to capitalise on the European market. So ultimately it gives Peugeot a big boost in the European market. A lot of new brands, a lot of new cars they can build upon. And a lot of new technologies as well. So it will be an interesting development to so how that works. I think right now, in the short term it is a lot of cash for GM which is great. And kind of losing some of the brands that have been losing them money. But the implication for Peugeot, that remains to be seen. But definitely it's a huge development right now and with all the changes going on in the geo-political nature, exactly what that's going to shake out to be, a little too early to tell. We will see."

14. Various exteriors of show venue

15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Matt DeLorenzo, Managing editor for Kelley Blue Book auto analyst organisation:

"The Volkswagen scandal seems to be fading from the picture. And the fact that they are outselling Toyota means that the public still has an interest in buying their products. Their non-diesel products. So if they can keep that momentum going with cars like the Arteon, I think they are going to be in a much better shape than what people thought they would be a year ago."

16. Various of Noble booth at the show

17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tim Stevens, presenter of the Roadshow on CNET:

"We are still seeing a lot of success in the luxury car market. The market definitely seems to be kind of peaking out, maybe beginning a decline. So that may be changing in the near future. But for now companies like Mercedes Benz are still seeing record sales. Sales are still increasing, and markets are still very very strong for them. So we are seeing more and more luxurious models. In fact we will see a very very luxurious large SUV from Mercedes Benz displayed here, the Landaulet. A very large version of their Gelenvagen. A big luxurious car. We are seeing that here so we will be seeing more luxurious cars here than we have in the past. And again the market is looking strong for now but there is definitely indications that it might be changing very near."

18. Geneva Motor Show sign

Some of the hottest luxury cars on the market are in poll position for the Geneva Motor Show.

Car makers such as Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari are all set to show off their latest creations to more than 700,000 expected visitors.

The 87th edition of the Geneva Motor Show opens to the public on Wednesday - and as ever, the focus is on sky high prices and ultra performance.

"Geneva is definitely about higher-end cars. So we will see a lot of super cars make their debuts here. Cars in the 200-300 thousand dollar price range. Cars with hundreds and hundreds of horse power. High speed. Exotic materials. A lot of performance. It is really a lot of what Geneva is about. You see some of those beautiful cars here on display," says Tim Stevens, presenter of the Roadshow on CNET.

"But we will be seeing some more attainable cars too. We are seeing some new SUVs being displayed here as well, some new technologies as well that may make cars more efficient and more economical in the future. So it will be a nice blend of technologies we'll see here at the show this year."

In total 900 models will be shown by 180 exhibitors, including 148 world and European premiers, according to organisers.

On Monday and Tuesday around 10,000 representatives from the worldwide press will attend before the show opens to the public on Wednesday.

The focus will be on the new releases, says Matt DeLorenzo, managing editor for the auto analyst organisation Kelley Blue Book.

"Well, two things to look at at the Geneva Motor Show this year are the appearance of high-end specialty built cars. Like the Ferrari 812 Superfast. This is a show that normally appeals to high net worth individuals so you will see a lot of these very special high performance cars here. McLaren is going to have an all new car, replacing the 650 S. And Porsche is going to do an update of the 911 GT3, and they are also showing sort of a station wagon version of the Panamera which is all new for them."

Overshadowing the show on Monday is the news that General Motors is selling Opel to the French Peugeot group PSA.

It will make PSA the second largest European car maker after Volkswagen.

"It is a pretty major development for General Motors, you know, as they try to strive towards more profitability. Those brands have always been money losers for them effectively. They haven't really been able to capitalise on the European market. So ultimately it gives Peugeot a big boost in the European market," says Stevens.

"I think right now, in the short term it is a lot of cash for GM which is great. And kind of losing some of the brands that have been losing them money. But the implication for Peugeot, that remains to be seen. But definitely it's a huge development right now and with all the changes going on in the geo-political nature, exactly what that's going to shake out to be, a little too early to tell. We will see."

Another issue that continues to be on the minds of those in the automobile industry is the emissions scandal that has engulfed Volkswagen in controversy since September 2015.

But DeLorenzo says the so-called "diesel-gate" saga is attracting less attention than at previous shows.

"The Volkswagen scandal seems to be fading from the picture. And the fact that they are outselling Toyota means that the public still has an interest in buying their products. Their non-diesel products. So if they can keep that momentum going with cars like the Arteon, I think they are going to be in a much better shape than what people thought they would be a year ago," he says.

But all other things aside, the Geneva Motor Show is the time for luxury to shine.

There have been some recent concerns in the industry about a possible slowdown global luxury car market, with some analysts pointing to slowing sales in Asia and particularly China as a reason to worry.

But according to Stevens, the luxury car market is still strong, at least for the time being.

"We are still seeing a lot of success in the luxury car market. The market definitely seems to be kind of peaking out, maybe beginning a decline. So that may be changing in the near future. But for now companies like Mercedes Benz are still seeing record sales," he says.

"Sales are still increasing, and markets are still very very strong for them. So we are seeing more and more luxurious models. In fact we will see a very very luxurious large SUV from Mercedes Benz displayed here, the Landaulet. A very large version of their Gelenvagen. A big luxurious car. We are seeing that here so we will be seeing more luxurious cars here than we have in the past. And again the market is looking strong for now but there is definitely indications that it might be changing very near."

The Geneva Motor Show opens to the public on 9 March and runs through March 19.