The 2009 Tokyo Motor Show already has its back against the ropes – with Japan’s Automobile Manufacturers’ Association considering canceling the show entirely – and the Detroit Three may have just landed the final haymaker to knock the show out.
According to Automotive News, General Motors and Chrysler have already withdrawn from the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, with Ford poised to make a similar decision.
The decision to skip the 2009 TMS is a direct result of the slumping market and recent government bailout, with GM and Chrysler releasing very similar statements. “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,” Rick Brown, president of GM Asia Pacific, told Automotive News.
Echoing that statement, Chrysler spokesperson Kaori Beppu said: “Chrysler decided, under the current challenges and market situation the company faces, to pull out of TMS in 2009 in order to secure limited resources invested efficiently on activities necessary to sustain our business.”
Ford has yet to make an announcement on its show plans, but the Dearborn automaker has reportedly missed the registration deadline for the October show. JAMA is expected to make a decision on whether or not the show will go on early next month.
Japan’s Nissan , Suzuki and Mitsubishi all skipped the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, although Mitsubishi’s Detroit-are dealers put on a small exhibit at the show.
