The 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon

The 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon

Tokyo Auto Salon was first established in 1983 as the “Tokyo Exciting Car Show” by the first editor-in-chief of tuning car magazine “OPTION” in order to spread custom car culture around the world.

In 1987 the name was changed to “Tokyo Auto Salon”, and the venue changed from the Tokyo International Exhibition Center in Harumi to Tokyo Big Sight in 1997, and then to its current venue Makuhari Messe in 1999, where the event is held in all areas, including the International Exhibition Hall, eleven Event Halls, and outdoor exhibition space. In recent years, the popularity of custom cars overseas, especially in Asian countries, has led to an increase in visitors from around the world. The first event attracted approximately 100,000 visitors over three days, but by 2020, the event had grown to attract more than 300,000 car enthusiasts, and is widely recognized as “the annual custom car festival.”

In the early days of the event, many tuner shops focused on tuning and dressing up their cars, and exhibited and sold new parts and technologies, but in the late 1990s, Japanese car manufacturers also began to exhibit, launching their latest models at the Tokyo Auto Salon, and vehicles that were intended to be customized were also exhibited.

In the 2000s, exhibitors from overseas, including European and American car manufacturers, began to appear, and this became an opportunity for the Japanese custom car market to become more widely known around the world.

The increase in exhibitors resulted in a greater variety of displayed products, and in recent years, a wide range of products have been exhibited and sold, from custom parts to automobile-related games, toys and fashion products.

Also, as the event is held early in the year, the motorsports announcements and demo runs of racing machines and new cars in the outdoor exhibition area have become popular contents. In addition, the event has become increasingly more family-friendly, with live performances by popular artists and the Japan Race Queen Awards ceremony.

Now in its 44th year, TOKYO AUTO SALON 2026 will continue to create an attractive environment for a wide range of car enthusiasts, and with the guidance of all relevant parties, will take on new initiatives that will further boost the automotive industry.