Report: BMW, Mercedes-Benz likely to skip 2009 Tokyo Motor Show

With collapsing new car sales dragging down profits, virtually all automakers are more carefully scrutinizing where every dollar goes. As such, funds are being shuffled away from fringe activities to core business activities, leaving the fate of the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show up in the air.

Word surfaced earlier this year that the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show might be completely cancelled, and it appears as if the show might have been dealt its final blow. According to Automotive News, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are planning to skip this year's Tokyo show.

As it stands now, General Motors, Chrysler, Volkswagen and Volvo will not be attending this year's Tokyo Show, with Ford also likely to pull out. The Big Three Japanese automakers -- Toyota, Nissan and Honda -- are still in at this point, but that could change at any moment. Nissan missed the 2009 Detroit show and will not be attending this year's Frankfurt or Los Angeles auto shows, so it remains possible that Japan's third-largest automaker could opt out of the Tokyo show. Inside sources have indicated that if just one of the Japanese automakers decides to skip the show, the plug will likely be pulled on October's Tokyo Motor Show.