December 25, 2000

Schedule for the 36th Tokyo Motor Show - Commercial Vehicles - (2002)

Tokyo --- The Japan Motor Industrial Federation, Inc. (JMIF; Chairman Hiroshi Okuda), has decided to host the 36th Tokyo Motor Show for commercial vehicles in the autumn of 2002, being encouraged by the great success of the 34th Tokyo Motor Show for commercial vehicles, the first international commercial vehicle show in Asia, which ran from October 31 (Tue.) to November 4 (Sat.) at the Makuhari Messe (Nippon Convention Center), Makuhari, Chiba. This decision is also a reflection of the JMIF's firm commitment to turning this show into a core international commercial vehicle show in Asia. The details such as show days of the 36th Tokyo Motor Show will be finalized by March, 2001.

The outline of the JMIF's second commercial vehicle show is as follows:

This year's commercial vehicle show used halls 1 to 8 of the Makuhari Messe with a total exhibition space of about 25,000 square meters. The show featured 261 exhibits from seven countries, 129 companies, two governments, and two organizations. Many of the exhibits focused on the protection of the environment, IT (Information Technologies), and welfare (technologies for the disabled), with a variety of state-of-the-art technologies related to these themes exhibited. In addition, the organizer implemented several new promotional events, such as the commercial vehicle test-ride program and symposiums. The efforts of exhibitors and the organizer were indeed appreciated; 177,900 visitors, far beyond the organizer's original estimate of 120,000, attended, and this is sure sign that this show will be a pivotal part of the automotive scene in Asia for a long time to come.

Generally commercial vehicle shows in Europe and America have focused exclusively on business. The intention of the JMIF was for this show to be a business-oriented exhibition, while at the same time characterizing it as the place where exhibitors could provide information on their corporate and R&D strategies, access information on user needs, and deepen the users' understanding of and interest in commercial vehicles. As a result, the show attracted a wide range of visitors, from businesses that use commercial vehicles to families just out for the day.

<Reference Information>
Profiles of Visitors of the 34th Tokyo Motor Show - Commercial Vehicles - (2000) based on interviews conducted during the public show days (640 samples)

1. Characteristics of visitors
The percentage of male visitors increased to 82.3%, up 4.3 points from the 78.1% of the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show for passenger cars (hereinafter referred to the "previous show"). The age segment over 30 reached 68.0%, up 16 points from the 52.0% of the previous show. Families amounted to 26.6% of the respondents, up more than 3 points from the previous 23.2%.

2. Purposes of visit (not a question on the previous questionnaire)
"On business" was checked by 28.1% of the respondents, which is equal to approximately 50,000 visitors. This indicates our show's distinctive feature, that is, being a "general commercial vehicle show" that is relevant to the needs of professional users and private car owners in contrast to the similar shows in Europe and the U.S., which focus exclusively on professional users.

3. Objectives of visit
"Want to know the most up-to-date technologies" was checked by 46.6% of the respondents, a new high compared with the previous 19.7%, which suggests visitors' high interest in automobiles.

4. Visitor satisfaction
The percentage of respondents checking "Very satisfied" or "Somewhat satisfied" was a generally high 72.5%, but down 14 points from the previous 86.5%, while those checking "Somewhat dissatisfied" or "Completely dissatisfied" amounted to 11.7% of the total. "Vehicles and parts I wanted to see are not satisfactory" was the main reason indicated by those dissatisfied, reaching 49.3%, up 19 points from the previous show. As shown in item 3 above, this implies higher and more varied expectations concerning the exhibits.

5. Driving license ownership
It is not surprising that visitors with heavy-duty vehicle driving licenses reached 17.5%, more than double the previous figure of 7.4%. In addition, visitors with professional driving licenses for heavy-duty vehicles, tractors, and special-purpose vehicles amounted to 5 to 6 % of the total, which is naturally expected of this sort of commercial vehicle show.

6. Overseas visitors
The number of respondents was limited to 110, but visitors from Asian countries such as Thailand and Korea amounted to 85.4% of the total. 79.1% of them visited the show "on business." Three stated professions including automotive manufacturing, automotive parts manufacturing, and automotive sales reached 60.9%. Visitors of managerial position above "manager" amounted to 66.3% of the total. In a nutshell, overseas visitors can be safely said to have been mostly business-oriented.
In addition, 188 foreign journalists, mainly from Asia and Europe, visited this year's show.

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Chikara Wada or Toyokazu Ishida
General Affairs Department
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