This year's Tokyo motor show will feature all major domestic manufacturers, however only two foreign automakers will be making the trek to Japan.
According to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), over 240 companies took part in the 2007 event, whereas only 108 exhibitors will attend this year's show. That's the fewest since the show first started in 1954, say organisers.
The 2007 show hosted no less than 26 foreign manufacturers including all key German brands, the three major French manufacturers (Peugeot, Citroen and Renault), and Italian exoticars from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. This year the only Euro exhibitors will be specialist, low-volume brands: Alpina and Lotus.
Only three halls are required to host this year's show, whereas the '07 show took up the North, East, West and Centre halls at Tokyo's Makuhari Messe.
In 2007 Toyota had three farsighted eco-concepts at its stand, alongside Lexus' LF-Xh -- a hybrid SUV -- but it wasn't all green-oriented and in fact a good dose of performance was on show. Toyota's luxury brand also had the V10-powered LF-A super car concept, while Subaru showed off the new WRX STI, Mitsubishi its EVO X and Honda first displayed the sporty CR-Z hybrid. The undoubted star of the 2007 show was Nissan's GT-R which understandably attracted large crowds for the duration of the exhibition.
Among the Euros in 2007, Audi revealed the A1 Metroproject Quattro which is scheduled for production shortly.
Japanese maker Mitsuoka was a featured brand in 2007 but no specialist local brand has anything new to reveal this year.
Even the burgeoning Korean brands have chosen to skip Tokyo. Hyundai was booked to attend until last Tuesday, when the company notified show organiser JAMA it had decided to withdraw. Officially, the company stated: "Hyundai Motor Co. will not be an official exhibitor at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show because of the global economic downturn, which has forced a more careful allocation of resources.
"This decision is also in line with other leading automakers who have cancelled their participation at this year's Tokyo show," Hyundai stated.
In January Automotive News reported industry speculation as to whether the Tokyo show should be cancelled. At that stage, all Japanese manufacturers had signed on "as well as German car makers".
Arguably the Japanese auto industry has borne the brunt of the world economic crisis. Late in 2008 Toyota reported its first operating loss in 70 years.
Just ten passenger car manufacturers will have displays at the 41st Tokyo show. In comparison, this year's Shanghai motor show in April hosted 77 different manufacturers, and the likes of Porsche chose the Chinese show for the public debut of its all-new Panamera model. The Panamera was one of over a dozen launches at Shanghai, with many manufacturers using the show as further leverage in China's burgeoning auto market.
The popularity of the Chinese show further "adds insult to injury" for local manufacturers, according to industry analyst Hiroko Nakata of the Japan Times.
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