Nissan Also A No-Show For 2009 Detroit Auto Show

Nissan is joining the growing list of automakers that will not be attending the largest auto show in the U.S., the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit this January.  You can take Infiniti off the attendees list too, being Nissan’s luxury brand.  Besides Nissan, the list of automakers that have pulled out of the 2009 Detroit show so far includes Ferrari, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, and Suzuki.  Why are more and more automakers pulling out of the largest U.S auto show?

Reasons given by the automakers range from there not being enough sales in Detroit to justify the expense, to just wanting to spend their advertising dollars elsewhere.  Both reasons play down the fact that the NAIAS is the single largest event in the world’s largest auto market and provides tons of worldwide press coverage and publicity.  Whether real or perceived, the Detroit show’s clout is taking a hit due to the trouble U.S. automakers find themselves in, and the state of the economy in general. Nissan has gone a step further and announced that it will also skip the Chicago show in February.  

In Nissan’s case, having just launched an all new 370Z a couple weeks ago, they really are choosing to spend their ad dollars elsewhere, choosing to take the new sportscar on a cross-country tour.  It’ll be interesting to see what alternative ways they choose to promote other new cars like funky new Cube, and Infiniti G37 convertible.  Regardless, with so many no-shows you have to ask:  will there be an auto show circuit in 2009?

Source: The Detroit News