2009 Tokyo Motor Show Loses Porsche, Maserati

Following last week's announcement that no less than 22 manufacturers will not attend the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, here are two new names that confirmed they won't show up at the event. Both Porsche and Maserati said they will not participate in this year's Tokyo show as the companies are still fighting against the economic recession and this is only one of the many ways to reduce costs as much as possible in every single area.

Unfortunately, Porsche and Maserati are not the only two major companies that won't attend the event. American automakers GM and Chrysler, who are now fighting for life in the US, as well as Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes already confirmed they'll skip the show, with Japanese manufacturers expected to rule the show to be held between October 23 and November 4 - this means four days shorter compared to the previous edition in 2007, according to drive.com.au.

There are only three brands who are not based in Japan and who confirmed their appearance, Hyundai, Ferrari and Lotus, with media reports hinting a fourth brand would also attend the conference.

"While the decision is regrettable, the Tokyo Motor Show remains important as an opportunity to demonstrate advanced technologies to the world," said Satoshi Aoki, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. "It is unprecedented to see such a large number of carmakers not coming to the motor show. It's disappointing," spokeswoman Kazusa Yoshino added.

Tokyo isn't the only show affected by the recession, with both Barcelona and British Motor Shows also experiencing similar problems. Organizers have already announced that the car show to be held in the United Kingdom has been cancelled, despite the fact that it was scheduled for 2010, citing the economic recession and the desperate situation of global automakers as the main reasons.