The upcoming 2012 Delhi Auto Expo will witness the launch of at least 50 new vehicles. The show will commence from 7th January 2011 and would last till 11th January 2011, wherein domestic as well as global players will ambitiously enrol themselves.
Despite of a slowdown in the country's economy, global players forecast a bright future in the Indian auto market. Among the launches, the centre of attraction will be the passenger car segment that would be represented by 32 new launches. As per Rajive Kaul, Chairman of Steering Committee of 2012 Auto Expo, 24 new cars will be launched by the domestic players, whereas remaining eight will hail from global makers.
Auto makers are concentrating over developing a new segment in the Indian auto industry, i.e. compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). Maruti Suzuki, India's largest car maker is planning to shift its focus from the small car segment and enter other potential segments. Working on its plan, the company will launch Ertiga, a Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV), at the mega event which will surely attract the audience.
Competing with Maruti, Hyundai Motor Company will also unwrap its new SUV, Veloster, which is likely to consolidate the position of the company in the Indian auto market. Moreover, Tata Motors, too, joins the league as it is set to launch the diesel variant of its 'World's Cheapest Car' Nano, which will again be the cheapest version among the diesel-engined cars.
Apart from the local players, global makers have also lined-up a series of new launches to target all classes of people in the Indian market. Luxury auto makers like Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Porsche and Maserati are expected to exhibit their new vehicles at the Auto Expo heat, for the purpose of firming positions.
In addition to cars, the show will also offer a platform to two-wheeler companies that are set to unwrap nine vehicles. Of the nine two-wheelers, six will be a part of the commercial vehicles segment and rest three would be placed under other segments.
S. Sandilya, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), said, “Looking at the global slowdown, every auto manufacturer in the world is looking at India as the potential demand country. (A large) population on the one hand ... (with the) number of cars per thousand (of population) being so low. People are looking at India as the major opportunity market; therefore more of them are going to come. In that context, the Auto Expo is very critical.”
He further added, “The slowdown in foreign countries is because the demand is low. In India, due to rising incomes, buying capacity is increasing. We have to make it more convenient for those coming to see the show, and make it less chaotic.”
To share the limelight of the 2012 Auto Expo, 1500 participants are arriving at the grand event, which are based in 24 different countries. In order to mark their presence, auto makers from Germany, Britain, China, Canada, France, Italy and Japan have already confirmed their participation.
Organisers of the expo have restricted the number of entries to 100,000 visitors per day in order to maintain a hassle-free environment at the event. Considering this fact, the magnitude of audience arriving at Auto Expo will be less than the previous year, which saw 1.2 million visitors.
In order to manage the turnout efficiently, many potential makers are not provided with the permission to showcase their vehicles at the grand show. However, with the presence of limited auto makers, the Auto Expo will not be affected much since the number of new launches this time is almost double.
The launch of new vehicles in the Indian market is likely to create a boom in the industry, which has not been in the best of forms during the current year.
