Slowdown shadow on auto expo

The much-awaited biennial motor show Auto Expo 2020 is likely to be a low-key affair this time as nine top automakers have decided to skip the event to be held in Greater Noida amid economic slowdown impacting their sales.

The automakers who have decided to pull out of the premier event include Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycles, and Scooters India, TVS, Honda Cars India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Ford, Nissan, and Ashok Leyland.

“There is no doubt that the industry is going through a structured de-growth, which is largely because of moving from BS-IV to BS-VI emission standards and the technology disruptions augured by the industry,” Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), one of the three organisers of the event, told DH in an e-mail.

The event is set to take place between February 7 and February 12 this year. The assembly elections slated to take place on February 8 is also seen as a dampener by the industry.

“This time, in view of the current context (slowdown) we have decided to give the Expo a skip in order to prudently conserve and channel our resources and efforts towards more focused marketing campaigns/promotional activities,” Toyota spokesperson said.

However, this time around, Chinese companies have come as the saving grace for the event, as three of them are making a debut. Chinese firms Great Wall Motors, Haima Automobile, and Olectra BYD along with Korean car major KIA Motors, Czech Skoda Auto and German Volkswagen will be participating at this year’s event.

In 2018, the Auto Expo witnessed 19 exhibitors, 22 product launches, 81 product unveilings and 18 concepts along with 11 startups. Also, 25 electric vehicles were on display to cash in on the electric mobility wave.