Auto Expo 2016 kicks off today with over 30 participant cos

 With the biennial Auto Expo set to start from Wednesday, over 30 domestic and internal firms are slated to unveil new models of vehicles on the first stay itself.

While the first two days are open to media and business visitors, the event will be thrown open to the public from February 5-9. This year event will be bigger than last year with participating 65 exhibitors against 55 in the previous edition.

The show, jointly organised by SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers), ACMA (Automotive Components Manufacturers Association) and the Confederation of Indian Industry, will take place at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida.

Over 80 new models are expected to launch by auto makers in first two days against around 70 products. Top auto makers including Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra, Hyundai Motor India, Honda Cars India and Tata Motors are scheduled to launch new models on Wednesday.

Organisers are upbeat with expecting increase in the number of footfalls to 7 lakh this time. Around 5.6 lakh people visited the show during the last edition.

Exhibition space has also been increased to 73,000 square meters this year from the earlier 69,000 square meters.

SIAM President Vinod K Dasari had said that the expo this time would focus on electric and hybrid vehicles with a theme of mobility for all.

The auto expo is being held at a time when the automobile manufacturers are under pressure amid rising concerns over pollution, specially in Delhi-NCR, where diesel SUVs and cars with engines above 2,000 cc have been banned following a Supreme Court order.

New participants include Jeep, Polaris, and Italian motorcycle maker Benelli are highlight of this year show, some companies have also given it a miss citing high costs and low returns on investments. These include Bajaj Auto, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), Royal Enfield and Harley Davidson.

Coinciding with the Auto Expo, ACMA will host the components show at the Capital’s Pragati Maidan from February 4-7, in which around 1,500 exhibitors are expected to participate. Around 900 of them are Indian firms, while the remaining 600 are from overseas, including China, Canada, Germany, Japan and South Korea.

Auto carnival

The Auto Expo 2016 will be thrown open to the public from February 5 to 9
The show is jointly organised by SIAM, ACMA  and and the Conferdeartion of Indian Industry
Over 80 new models are expected to be launched by auto makers in first two days
The expo this time would focus on electric and hybrid vehicles with a theme of mobility for all