Major car firms pull-out of Bologna

Organisers of the Bologna motorshow in Italy have vowed to carry on with hosting the show, despite there being no major manufacturers exhibiting.

Fiat pulled out of its home show on 22nd September and all remaining manufacturers had followed suit by 2nd October.

Giada Michetti, from the show’s organisers Promotor International, said: “On 2nd October, the largest part of the foreign automakers that had previously said they would participate in the show canceled their participation.”

Last month’s Frankfurt motorshow wasn’t attended by firms including Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi, while the only non-native manufacturers at Tokyo will be Caterham, Lotus and Alpina. Next year’s British motorshow has also been cancelled.

The Bologna show has been cut from nine to five days and will now feature auto exhibits and competitions, including an exhibition of Ferrari’s Formula One car.