Amsterdam auto show canceled due to economic crisis

AutoRAI 2013, the Amsterdam auto show scheduled for next April, has been canceled, organizers said, citing lack of support from importers and suppliers in the face of the economic crisis in Europe.

"The bottom line is we didn't have a majority of brands supporting this," Joost 't Hooft, exhibition manager, told Reuters.

"It's mainly due to the current crisis. They have less money to spend in their marketing budgets," he added.

The organizers have already slashed the costs of exhibiting by roughly half since 2007, he said, but it still costs between 100,000 euros and one million euros.

Organizers had hoped to attract 300,000 visitors between April 2 and April 14, up from about 270,000 in 2012.

(Reporting by Sara Webb; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)