It's the story of the incredible shrinking auto show. With less than a month to go before the doors open, one of the last major foreign automakers has pulled out of the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Hyundai called the show's organizers late last week to let them know it wouldn't be coming.
"Hyundai called last week and orally confirmed their intent to cancel," said Toyokazu Ishida, administrator of the international exhibition for show organizer the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. "It's unbelievable."
JAMA is still waiting for official, written confirmation of cancellation from Hyundai, and the company declined to comment on its plans. Though no official reason has been given for Hyundai's last-second departure, Japanese newspapers report that it was a money-saving decision. The company will lose the $122,000 it put down as a non-refundable deposit for 4,300 square feet of exhibit space, but won't have to pay for a display, staff, or other costs, which can run into the millions of dollars.
The South Korean automaker follows a slew of other non-Japanese marquees out the door and spells more trouble for the troubled show. Speculation about the end of the show ran rampant earlier this year when all three major U.S. automakers pulled out of the show along with several major European manufacturers. At the time, JAMA officials insisted that the show would go on, despite some internal disagreement about whether it was better to simply cancel the show than go forward with so few exhibitors. As of March, only half the number of exbitors as the 2007 show had signed up for 2009 and the number has fallen since then. The Tokyo Motor Show runs every other year, so a cancelation would leave a four-year gap between shows.
With Hyundai's withdrawal, the only remaining foreign makes are German tuner Alpina and British sports car-maker Lotus. Ishida said that JAMA hasn't decided how to fill Hyundai's floor space yet.
Thanks to: Motor Trend