Tuesday, January 13, 2009

2009 Tokyo Motor Show cancellation talk unfounded


The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association denied reports Tuesday that it was considering canceling the Tokyo motor show this year.

Mo
st of the world's automakers are struggling because of the global downturn, and there has been talk in the industry that several car companies will skip the Tokyo show held in the fall to save money.


Bu
t William Duncan, general director of JAMA's Washington office, said the association had stated firmly that there was no discussion of a cancellation.


Thi
s is a difficult year for the Japanese, which are struggling with slumping demand in their domestic market as well as in key export markets and a strong yen.


The Japanese auto market has been in decline for years because the population is graying rapidly and recently began to contract.

In December, as the Japanese economy weakened, vehicle sales fell 22.3 percent for the largest ever year-over-year monthly drop.

Ev
en Japan's leading automakers, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., slashed their forecasts and alerted investors that they were losing money in the second half of the Japanese fiscal year ending March 31.


The
global slump has overshadowed the press preview this week of the North American International Auto Show. Several companies, such as Nissan Motor Co., decided not to display vehicles to save money.


Nis
san officials say they believe companies will increasingly select among shows because it's too expensive to attend all of them now that emerging markets such as China and Russia also host auto shows.

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Show Outline

Location: Makuhari Messe, Chiba City

Dates: October 23 (Fri.) - November 8 (Sun.)
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Source:
The Detroit News

Related link:
Tokyo Motor Show website

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