I’m not going to lie to you. The 2009 Tokyo Motor Show was a pretty big letdown punctuated by pockets of expectation and amazement.
Without doubt everyone was expectantly anticipating the arrival of cars like the Lexus LFA and the Toyota FT86 but there was no denying the fact that the Makuhari Messe was empty, especially by TMS standards. The Makuhari Messe is a massive venue and became even more cavernous with the absence of almost every European and American automotive manufacturer.
Not wanting to sound too critical, this was the smallest Tokyo Motor Show (TMS) I’ve been to by a long way and with the current economic climate in the state its in, this is cause for concern on a number of levels. I have it on good faith through a certain contact that the European arm of the automotive world gave the Japanese event the thumbs down due to the economic crisis. Make of that what you will but keep in mind all those absent from the TMS were present at the Shanghai Motor Show. If there was a single action that would bring about the most consternation within the TMS, this was it. My contact tells me that China’s market for one particular manufacturer is a massive 10 times that of Japan and this went some of the way towards the decision not to attend. Amazingly, it was conveyed to me that when one of the manufacturers baulked at staging a display at this years TMS, the majority followed suit. Quite extraordinary and with costs for staging an event like this reaching astronomical figures, quite understandable. Despite these setbacks, the TMS proved to be a success in other ways, underscored by the continued and more urgent push toward alternative fuels, bringing with it scores of journalists hanging on the every word of Japan’s automotive top brass.
One thing that was immediately noticeable was the army of Chinese and Korean visitors to this years event, scores flocking to the stands of each major manufacturer to pick, pry and poke at each design, no doubt taking in vital aesthetic and engineering based intel to transfer to their own product lines back home. Japan is going to have to really get a move on if it wants to stay in the race. Another thing that is equally apparent is that China is still playing catch up in this game and needs as much information as it can get. How the Japanese giants will respond to this is unknown but what is clear is that they are market leaders in this field with the technology and resources to back up the products. Japan is at the forefront on the development of alternative fuels and has been for many years. Making this technology cost effective is proving to be the major stumbling block. For example, it is reported that replacement battery prices for the Toyota “Plug in” Hybrid concept showcased this year at the TMS top out at a jaw dropping 650,000 yen. With a base cost of more than 3 million yen for the vehicle, neither these batteries nor the vehicle itself make sense financially.
