Chrysler, Ford, GM Pull Out of Tokyo Auto Show
Money’s too tight to mention. But Rick Brown, president of GM Asia Pacific, mentioned it to Automotive News [AN, sub]. “We won’t be participating [in the you can call it the Tokyo Auto Show]. If you really look at the business conditions that we are in right now, where we really have to make a bang out of every buck we spend, it’s simply a business decision.” AN reckons a presence at the Tokyo show cost $2m. No wonder Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper says Ford and Chrysler also “missed” last year’s deadline to register for the show. That’s the price of one year’s G4 lease! As we reported yesterday, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association is hemming and hawing about whether or not to cancel the event until 2011. Previous media speculation centered on whether one of Japan’s “Big Three” (Toyota, Honda, Nissan) would withdraw and kill the event. Now, with the Americans out of play, it’s only a matter of time. Who’s next to go? New York? Barcelona? Watch this space.
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I don't disagree with the decision by the Big Three. But it is the kind of thing that has them where they are now. The American carmakers complain about not selling cars in Japan. But they have not done one hard thing to develop the market there. Right-hand drive cars? Too hard. Tokyo Motor Show? Too expensive. American carmakers have done better in Europe than Japan. I suppose there are lots of reasons for that. And Japanese protectionism is one of them. But my feeling is that American carmakers have only reaped what they sowed in Japan. Sow nothing, reap nothing.
Not particularly surprising. Honestly, as ubiquitous as they are becoming, it seems like we should have an Auto Show Deathwatch. Spending $2 million to show off you cars when you can do the same thing with a 3-D function on a web site for (what I would imagine would be) a fraction of the cost doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Good move! With home market sales WAY down,I don't think Foreign will be welcome...unless its extremely cheap or extremely expensive! The Japanese are patriotic and will buy Home market cars now..If they buy any at all!