Auto Expo gears up for 25 launches

The Indian automotive industry is gearing up to stamp its authority on the international arena with the Auto Expo, which will witness four global launches, including Tata's much-touted Rs 1 lakh car.

With around 2,000 participants and 1,20,000 sq ft of display area, the 9th Auto Expo would be next only to the Shanghai Motor Show in terms of space occupied and is expected to host over 12 lakh visitors.

"This time round, not only our display area has doubled but the participation has also increased considerably. There will be four global launches, out of a total of 25 during the expo, including of components," CII Deputy Director General Gurpal Singh told PTI.

In terms of business, he said this year's expo was likely to generate double the amount from the last one. The 8th Auto Expo, two years ago, did a business of Rs 10 crore-plus.

He said of the 2,000 exhibitors, 40 per cent were global players. Adding a feather to its cap is the fact that the expo has received an accreditation from Organisation Internatinale Des Constructeurs D'automobiles (OICA) of France.

Organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India, the 9th Auto Expo would be open from January 10-17 at Pragati Maidan here. Entry tickets have been priced at Rs 500 for companies and Rs 150 for the public.

"Considering the growing importance of the Indian automotive industry on the global platform, various automobile and automotive giants and delegations from 25 countries, including France, Brazil, Japan and Korea, will also be visiting," Singh said.

The exposition would see one of the biggest global participation with automobile manufacturers and ancillaries from the US, Japan, China, Germany, France and Italy among others exhibiting their products. The organisers have set up special pavilions such as diesel city, infotronics, design pavilion and auto enterprise.

Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest carmaker, will unveil its A-Star hatchback concept car with a launch slated later in the year. The company would also showcase its 1.1 litre Splash which would be produced in India for the entire European market.

General Motors India will launch its bestselling SUV Captiva in India. GM's two biggest rivals globally "" Ford and Toyota "" have, however, decided not to participate in the expo.

Japan's Honda Motor would showcase its technologically advanced fuel cell car FCX and a hybrid Civic, besides a Jazz prototype, which would be launched in India in 2009.

But the spotlight will be on Tata Motors' much-awaited Rs one-lakh car. India's biggest automobile firm would also showcase variants of Indica and Indigo.

"The objective is not only to promote the already established names in the auto industry but also to provide a platform to smaller ancillaries," Singh said.