In 2021, for the first time ever, the biennial Tokyo Motor Show will be cancelled.
It’s official, the Tokyo Motor Show 2021 will be cancelled this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Tokyo Motor Show takes place once every two years and started 67 years ago in 1954.
Akio Toyoda, who serves as the Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) made the announcement yesterday.
“The Tokyo Motor Show is being cancelled, not delayed,” said Akio Toyoda. “It’s difficult to hold the event in a way in which many people will be able to experience the appeal of mobility in a safe and secure environment. The Tokyo Motor show collaborates with a number of industries to envision a new future for mobility,” he added.
The last time the Tokyo Motor Show was held in 2019, it brought in well over a million visitors, including us.
“It welcomes 1.3 million people in person. We don’t want to hold the event online, we want to hold it in-person. That’s why we’ve chosen to cancel the show this time.”
This will not be the first time the pandemic has affected motor shows. The Geneva Motor Show was outright cancelled last year as well, while the Los Angeles and New York Auto Shows were both postponed.
Some sources say that JAMA plans to rebrand the Tokyo Motor Show and bring it back as the Tokyo Mobility Show, but no solid plans or dates have been revealed officially. A mobility show would make sense. The last Tokyo Motor Show had quite a few traditional car launches but was also filled with loads of innovative technology and futuristic mobility solutions. Entire sections were dedicated to this under the “Open Future” Concept.
In fact, the Open Future concept kind of opened the way for this sort of transformation. Here’s an excerpt from that press release.
PRESS RELEASE
The “OPEN FUTURE” concept vividly reflects the open-ended scope of possibilities that the exciting new mobility of the future will embody, in addition to the basic enjoyment that motor vehicles and motorcycles provide to their users. This year’s show will demonstrate that the potential of the future is always expanding at the Tokyo Motor Show.
OPEN to the future
Special excitement will be generated at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show through programs and events that have been conceived and organized on the basis of close collaborative efforts with other industries (see Attachment 2 herewith). In addition, JAMA and the All Japan Business Committee will co-host the “Future Expo” event along with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
An expanded, wide-OPEN venue
In addition to Odaiba’s Ariake area, where the Tokyo Motor Show has until now been held at Tokyo Big Sight, the venue for this year’s show has been expanded to include, for the first time, the Aomi area. The show’s venue will also include the new “Open Road” connecting the Ariake and Aomi areas, to create one vast “mobility theme park” for visitors to the show.
OPEN access to designated venue zones
Various zones within the Tokyo Motor Show venue will be accessible free of charge, to encourage people who might not otherwise visit the Tokyo Motor Show to come and enjoy show-related exhibits and activities. See details below.
