India’s biggest auto show, the Auto Expo, is just round the corner and there have been a lot of talks in the motoring community about the postponing of the show, the absence of some major automotive brands and of course the new unveiling and launches that will be taking place at the show, which is expected to take place in February 2020.
The automotive scenes in the Indian market hasn’t been looking up for about a year now and factors like the economic downturn, crisis of the non-banking financial sector, rising prices due to new regulations related to insurance, safety and emissions and even confusion over BS6 have weighed down heavily on the sales.
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Owing to the shadows of these factors looming on the industry, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which is one of the organising bodies behind Auto Expo contemplated postponing the 15th edition of the motorshow by a year.
“You have to take calls when there is de-growth. Obviously, there is an introspection – should we or should we not. Collectively, most of us (members of SIAM) thought that it is wiser to go ahead with the Auto Expo, than to postpone it by one year. We were thinking of postponing it by one year, but then we decided that we will go ahead”, said Rajan Wadhera, President, SIAM at one of their events.
The Auto Expo 2020 will be held as per schedule from February 7-12, 2020 at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
As per SIAM members, had the event been postponed, it would have been a disservice to the nation, especially since the international commitments had already been made a long time ago. Moreover, the top automotive body believes that despite the damp customer sentiments in the face of an industry-wide slump, aspirations to witness and experience new products and technologies still exist, which was all the more reason to go ahead with plans for a scheduled event.
“The Auto Expo 2020 will be the launch pad for the revival of the auto industry”, Wadhera added.
While some major launches and unveilings are expected at the 2020 Auto Expo, some of regulars at the show are expected to skip the event.
Major exhibitors like Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Fiat, Jeep, BMW, Audi, and Jaguar Land Rover will not be presenting at the upcoming Auto Expo, while Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata, Mahindra, Kia, MG, Renault, Volkswagen, Skoda and Mercedes-Benz will be lining up some of their crucial offerings.
As per reported, Chinese automakers Great Wall Motors and First Automobile Works (Haima) will also be making their debut at the expo this time.
In the two-wheeler package, Suzuki, Piaggio group companies (such as Aprilia, Vespa and Moto Guzzi), Hero Electric and Okinawa Scooters will be presenting their products while the major brands will be absent from the show.
Stay tuned for more updates and watch this space for some interesting news on the Auto Expo 2020.