Tokyo show to be revamped as mobility event

TOKYO -- The troubled, ever-evolving Tokyo auto show will be rechristened the Japan Mobility Show when it returns in 2023 under a bigger tent that aims to include everything from motorcycles to startups and an array of new participants under an “all-industry” banner.

Organizers hope the reboot rekindles international interest in Asia’s erstwhile premier auto expo and in Japan as a technology leader. The Tokyo car conclave used to hum with global debuts. But at the last gathering in 2019, only four international brands bothered to show.

Next year, the ailing show aims to attract 1 million visitors, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, which has hosted the Tokyo show since its inception in 1954.

JAMA Chairman Akio Toyoda unveiled the new name on Thursday, a day before the auto industry lobbying group outlined more details, including the 2023 event’s Oct. 25-Nov. 5 show dates.

“Simply put, the aim of the Japan Mobility Show is to re-energize Japan by focusing on automobiles,” said Toyoda, who is also president of Toyota.

“We set a framework for mobility so other industries can join the event. I hope it will be a show that re-energizes Japan.”

Toyoda did not elaborate on the scope of how many sectors and companies might be included.

But Jun Nagata, head of the show’s organizing committee and Toyota’s chief communications officer, cited software companies involved in mobility-as-a-service as potential participants.

Promotional graphics for the JMS depict flying cars and robotic dogs among the attractions.

Media days will be Oct. 25-26, and the show will be held at Tokyo Big Sight, the sprawling convention center on the city’s waterfront that hosted the last Tokyo auto show.

In April 2021, JAMA canceled the biennial Tokyo show scheduled for the autumn of that year, shutting down the event for the first time in its history, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent times, the Tokyo show has been fishing for a new identity as Japan’s shrinking domestic auto market loses its luster as focal point for overseas automakers.

“I think the participation of overseas automakers has declined in proportion to the declining appeal of Japan’s market itself,” Nagata said. “We are concerned about how they view the event.”

In June of last year, JAMA decided to revive the show in 2023 with the theme "Green and Digital" — to showcase the Japanese auto industry's push to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

But it switched to the “mobility” theme as a more all-encompassing banner.

Under Toyoda’s leadership, the show was pulled back from the brink, after years of sliding attendance and increasing irrelevance on the global stage. The number of international exhibitors dwindled as European and U.S. automakers turned their attention toward China.

At the show’s last gathering in 2019, Toyoda set a goal of attracting 1 million visitors, and the 12-day show finished with more than 1.3 million attendees. That was a 70 percent surge over the 771,200 who visited in 2017, though well below the record of 2.02 million in 1991.

But international participation reached a nadir. The only major global brands participating were Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Renault and Alpine. And participation by Renault and Alpine may have been more a show of solidarity with their Japanese alliance partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi, than a genuine interest in the local market, where both brands are minor players, even among imports.

“As Tokyo can draw 1 million visitors, we hope global automakers will recognize that showcasing at the Japan Mobility Show can boost their brand image,” Nagata said. “Aside from being a business and commercial venue, Japan will try to prove itself as a leading country in mobility.”