Auto Expo: 2014 Expo may be held outside Delhi, probably in February

The New Delhi Auto Expo may be shifted to a new venue in future and will probably not be held in January any more, considering the issues that the ongoing event is suffering from. All organising parties, namely Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Automotive Components Manufacturers' Association (ACMA) acknowledged the need to streamline the way things are being run currently. The organising bodies hope to provide the exhibitors and visitors a better experience at the 12th edition of the event.

Many exhibitors have made their displeasure known to the organisers and said that they may not come to the event next time. This made the organisers take note of the problems and come up with apt solutions for the 2014 event.

International players like Volkswagen, Fiat and Renault complained that similar events are held at the time of holidays in Europe and USA. The capacity of Pragati Maidan to host 1,00,000 visitors on a daily basis was also questioned by the likes of Anand Mahindra, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra and RC Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti.

According to the new plan, the 2014 New Delhi Auto Expo will be held in February instead of January. Moreover, the first day of the event will be designated for media, while the second day will be for special invitees. Another big change is that the Expo may be held outside Delhi and general visitors would get the opportunity to see the show on the fourth day only. This will be in stark contrast to the current Expo, where an unprecedented number of visitors came to see the show and caused day-long traffic jams.

Sugato Sen, Director of SIAM, commented "There has been much deliberation to avoid the confusion that marked the second day of the Auto Expo. The initial outcome suggests segregating the visitors at the event and also holding it in a month when it does not clash with any other international show."

Arvind Kapur, President of ACMA, quipped, "We need a new location that is big and can house all the exhibitors. We are deliberating options to grab a new venue where we can house the bulging number of auto companies as well as all the component makers in a single facility."