The 38th Tokyo Motor Show -Commercial & Barrier-free Vehicles-(2004)
Ends With Success

JNL-2004-55
November 7, 2004

The 38th Tokyo Motor Show – Commercial & Barrier-free Vehicles – (Patron: H.I.H. Prince Tomohito of Mikasa), held by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association for six days from Tuesday, November 2 at Makuhari Messe (Nippon Convention Center) in Chiba, came to a successful close at 6 PM on Sunday, November 7.

The show's subtitle was changed from “Commercial Vehicles” to "Commercial & Barrier-free Vehicles" to better reflect the show's content. Exhibitors displayed the latest commercial vehicles that support the lives of people and barrier-free vehicles that are gaining high public interest, as well as the latest technologies. At the same time, the diverse offerings such as a variety of "audience-participation" and "hands-on" events to satisfy visitors from children to business people helped to make the show a success.

Attendance Records 248,600 Visitors; Target Far Exceeded

There were a total of 248,600 visitors to the show. This surpassed the target of 235,000 visitors by a wide margin (the previous 36th Commercial Vehicles show of 2002 had 211,100 visitors), a 117.8% increase over the previous time. This is a new record for the commercial vehicles show.

What was noticeable about this year’s visitors was that the proportion of female visitors increased by 8 points over the previous commercial vehicles show in 2002, accounting for approximately 25% of overall attendance. It appears that changing the show subtitle helped to make the Motor Show seem more friendly and approachable; another factor seems to be that the several diverse "hands-on" and "audience-participation" events added to the enjoyment of the Motor Show.

Press attendance also increased with a total of 2,860 domestic and foreign press members visiting on Press Day on November 2 compared to 2,780 for the previous show. This is also a record high for the commercial vehicles show, indicating high interest in the Tokyo Motor Show.

Exhibits of the Latest Environmentally-friendly Models and Barrier-free Vehicles

This year, there were 111 companies, 1 government, and 1 organization from 6 different countries. A total of 206 vehicles were exhibited. Among these, there were 38 world premieres and 15 Japan premieres, an increase over the previous commercial vehicle show (world premieres: 27; Japan premieres: 9). This indicates that many exhibitors chose the Tokyo Motor Show as the stage to showcase their state-of-the-art models and cutting edge technology.

They also put a lot of work into barrier-free and environmental-friendly exhibits: among the 206 vehicles total, approximately one-fourth were barrier-free vehicles, while about one-fifth were vehicles that responded to environmental needs, such as the models complying with the New Long-term Exhaust Emission Regulations and hybrid vehicles.

Wide Variety of “Hands-on” and “Audience-participation” Events Were a Hit

Diverse “audience participation” and “hands-on” events were held to make the show more accessible to a wide range of visitors such as young people and families, as well as businesspeople.

Especially popular attractions included: the Commercial and Barrier-free Vehicles Test-Ride, where visitors could ride as passengers on commercial and barrier-free vehicles in a specially-constructed venue; the Barrier-free Vehicles Park, where barrier-free vehicles and peripherals were displayed and where visitors could test-ride wheelchairs, etc.; the Commercial Vehicles and Motorcycles Ride and Experience Zone, where visitors could touch or ride commercial vehicles. The high level of interest among visitors in commercial and barrier-free vehicles was obvious. It seems that broad recognition of the added appeal of the show that didn’t exist in previous commercial vehicle shows was a factor in the increase of attendance.

Theme for the next Tokyo Motor Show: "Driving Tomorrow!" from Tokyo- Brand-new Proposals to Automobile: Our dream Comes Alive.

The 39th Tokyo Motor Show - Passenger Cars and Motorcycles – for 2005 will be lengthened from the usual 13 days to a total of 17 days. Because three weekends can be included by lengthening the show, the organizers hope to spread out the number of visitors and alleviate congestion.

Reflecting the aspiration to be a place where people can see the most progressed technology and designs in the world and to be a hub of the latest information on vehicles and automotive society, the theme will be "Driving Tomorrow!" from Tokyo- Brand-new Proposals to Automobile: Our dream Comes Alive.

After the 39th Tokyo Motor Show in 2005 (Passenger Cars and Motorcycles), no show will be held in 2006. From the 40th Tokyo Motor Show in 2007, the show will be held once every two years as an “integrated show” including passenger cars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles, vehicle bodies, and parts.

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