BRITAIN'S biggest seller of fleet and retail cars - Ford - has pulled out of exhibiting at this year's London Motor Show. Ford's decision not to exhibit at Earls' Court from October 17 to October 28 was immediately followed by MINI.

The twin announcement by the two marques follows a series of high profile withdrawals from the event by Audi, Daewoo, BMW, Peugeot, SEAT, Hyundai, Skoda, Lexus, Toyota, Jaguar, MG Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Fiat, Volvo and Volkswagen have also confirmed they will not be attending. Manufacturers which have confirmed their attendance include Vauxhall, Renault, Citroen, Smart, Daihatsu, Lotus, Aston-Martin, Porsche, TVR, Nissan, Saab and Honda.

Ian McAllister, Ford's chairman and managing director said: 'We had to weigh the significant cost of attending this year's show against the impact of a depleted industry presence.' Reacting to Ford's decision Andrew Morris, managing director of event-organisers Clarion Events, was disappointed but said: 'The withdrawal of a number of some car companies has actually given us the opportunity to reinvent the shows format and invest an extra £1 million to create a new interactive motor show.'