Auto Expo losing zing

Hyundai, Toyota not to participate in New Delhi Auto Expo.

Some of the biggest car companies in the country say the New Delhi Auto Expo, whose eighth edition is scheduled to be held in January next year, is losing its charm.

Already, Hyundai Motors and Toyota Kirloskar have decided not to participate. Even many among those participating feel the show is losing its relevance because of its scope, which is limited to the Indian market, and the nature of the crowd it attracts.

The companies say they do not get sufficient return on their investments, in spite of early-bird and loyalty discounts. "We do not expect to take part. It is an economically indefensible proposition," says Hyundai President BVR Subbu.

Says a top industry executive, "The Delhi Auto Expo addresses a small market, unlike the international shows that cater for a global audience. The crowds that come here just come to a fair, looking for gifts, and even scratch the cars."

A leading car company believes it deserves free space at the show, since cars are what the crowds come to see.

Hyundai's and Toyota's aloofness can hurt the Auto Expo, which has just two "home" manufacturers among carmakers "" Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra. M&M has kept away from the event of late.

"The question is whether we can derive the maximum bang out of the buck," says Anand Mahindra, M&M's vice-chairman and managing director.

The other Indian car companies are multinationals. In spite of its native name, Maruti Udyog belongs to Suzuki Motors, which reserves its best for its "home" show in Tokyo, as do the other MNCs.

"Our car market is too small to justify big investments by overseas manufacturers in this auto show," says Maruti Managing Director Jagdish Khattar.

But organisers say they are not perturbed. "We are totally sold out," says Gurpal Singh, head of the Trade Fairs Committee of Confederation of Indian Industry, which organises the Auto Expo in league with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' and Auto Component Manufacturers' Association.

One view is that some companies may be finding it difficult to come up with new models or concepts to display every two years, which is the interval between two Auto Expos, especially as most of them have been around for a decade or so and participate in the international shows.

"The early editions were good. A lot of the companies were new in India at that time and wanted to tell the people here what they had," says a top industry executive.