The Tokyo Motor Show was canceled for the first time since the inaugural event in 1954, due to the ongoing pandemic.
Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, who is also chairman of the event’s organizer, the Association of Japanese Automobile Manufacturers, is quoted by Automotive News Europe as telling reporters: “We have concluded that it will be difficult to ‘offer our main programs where many visitors will experience attractive features of mobility in a safe environment. “
The biennial event – usually one of the largest of its kind in the world – has so far always gone as planned. However, an increase in Covid-19 infections in Japan is cause for concern, with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga considering declaring a state of emergency in cities like Tokyo and Osaka.
The cancellation of the Tokyo Motor Show comes just three months before Japan is ready to host the Olympics, which have already been postponed for a year.
Upon its return in 2022 or 2023, the Tokyo Motor Show will be renamed the “ Mobility Show ” to reflect the increasingly diverse field of transportation solutions offered by Japanese manufacturers.
“Next time around, we would like to have an improved event called Tokyo Mobility Show,” Toyoda said. “We would like to ask for your continued support.”
A virtual version of the 2021 event, comparable to the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, has never been there, according to Toyoda. He explained, “The Tokyo Auto Show features motorcycles, minivans, large vehicles. [and] passenger cars, as well as mobility vehicles from other industries.
“As such, we would like to make it a priority for visitors to experience these vehicles in the real world, and we would prefer to hold the event in the real world, not virtually. So we decided to cancel the event. “
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-22 12:03:03
