Car shows are no stranger to scantily-clad women in stiletto heels, and last year, Ssangyong Moto Co.’s display included two blondes in skintight silver dresses. But this year, “booth babes” as they’re known in the industry, many of them will be gone, and the South Korean manufacturer is replacing them with male and female models dressed in sportswear. Ssangyong isn’t the only company to bow to pressure from the global #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Moto Co. have also said they will be showing less skin while in Geneva, potentially marking a change for an industry that has long pandered to male customers by using attractive women to sell cars. According to Bloomberg, Lexus, the luxury brand of the world’s second-biggest carmaker, Toyota, confirmed it’s dropping models altogether at the Swiss event. Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is said to have canceled several contracts with models because they fear being criticized on #MeToo. The maker of the Maserati, Jeep and Alfa Romeo nameplates will now feature men and women in less flesh-exposing clothing than previous years. This will be very different than 2017 when Alfa Romeo’s display had women in little black dresses hanging around its Stelvio crossover and a woman in an off-the-shoulder burgundy gown was stationed beside one of the Lexus sedans.
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