GM, Chrysler Sitting Out 2011 Tokyo Auto Show

General Motors and Chrysler Group LLC have both decided they won’t show up at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show (scheduled to take place in December) skipping the major event for a second straight time. Meanwhile, the other member of the American trio of manufacturers, Ford, is expected to make its decision by the end of the month.

The response from GM and Chrysler comes after all of Detroit’s Big three skipped the show in 2009, despite the organizers’ efforts to attract reluctant foreign automakers with a new location and date.

While the registration deadline was last November, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), the show’s organizer, plans to announce a final lineup of attendees in April. JAMA said that most European brands, including major German ones, are already on board, yet US automakers are still reluctant to participate because of their small sales figures in Japan.

"This is a big event, but we wanted to focus on other priorities. It's an investment versus outcome issue for us," said Sumito Ishii, managing director of GM Asia Pacific Japan, according to Automotive News.

According to him, the company spent millions of dollars on is five-car display when it last attended the show in 2007. However, Cadillac and Chevrolet, its two biggest sellers in Japan, managed to sell only 2,000 vehicles there. Ford, which sold 3,047 units in Japan last year, may be the only U.S. presence this year.

"Though our improved sales results in 2010 means greater resources this year, we have not decided where the motor show sits in our priorities," Ford Japan CEO Timothy Tucker said.