The Hindu Business Line : Auto Expo is 2 months away, but fully booked

Mumbai, Nov. 3 If anyone needed proof that the Indian automotive industry is on a roll, they would only need to check out the availability of space at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, the venue for Auto Expo 2010.

There are still two months to go before the event kicks off but every inch of the venue is already booked. “There is absolutely no space and it is going to be a Herculean task accommodating new requests,” people associated with the event told Business Line.

Compare this to the recently held Tokyo Motor Show, which was largely confined to Japanese carmakers as a host of big names in the global business dropped out citing financial viability especially in a year when their fortunes had tanked in most countries.

Delhi’s Pragati Maidan, in contrast, will house the likes of Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Renault, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Toyota and Honda.

In addition are India’s own jewels in the crown like Maruti-Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ashok Leyland.

From the two-wheeler side, Hero Honda, TVS, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, Bajaj Auto and Yamaha will be participating. The country is the second largest producer of bikes and scooters after China with over 850,000 units annually and could even emerge the largest in the coming years.

“The rush for the Expo clearly shows that India, like China, is critical to multinationals. The growth paradigm has completely changed and Asia is now the hottest destination for business,” sources said. This is borne by the fact that a sizable part of Pragati Maidan will be earmarked for component manufacturers who use the occasion to network with potential customers and end up striking deals in the process.

“To the glamour-struck crowds at the Expo, only cars and bikes will strike a chord. However, the unsung heroes are these ancillary suppliers who are shipping parts to vehicle makers across the world and are actually key to India’s reputation in quality and cost-competitiveness,” sources said.

The Expo begins on January 5 and goes on for a week. It is held every two years and is an useful platform for manufacturers to showcase their products to the public. Even today, the 1998 Expo is considered the most memorable as this was the time the Indica and Santro were unveiled. In 2008, the biggest draw was the Tata Nano, which caught the fancy of the world and spawned enormous interest in the low-cost car segment.

Auto Expo 2010 is expected to have its own share of surprises. VW will, of course, have on display the Polo that will roll out of its Pune plant in mid-2010. The fact that it has booked a hall of over 1,500 square metres reflects the German carmaker’s interest in India.

Tata Motors, keeping with tradition, will take up the largest space of 5,500 sq.m with Maruti Suzuki not too far behind with nearly 4,700 sq.m. Hyundai’s is pretty significant with 2,000 sq.m while M&M, which is expected to focus on its commercial vehicle range, has booked space for nearly 2,100 sq.m. Volvo of Sweden will showcase its buses and trucks (through the newly created company with Eicher).

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