New Delhi: Huge billboards cover every corner of a 2,35,000 sq. mt space at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, some bearing photos of swanky cars and others with the message ‘Don’t drink and drive’. An inviting red carpet takes you to the pavilion.
Inside, flashy new cars catch the eye everywhere you look — from shiny blue SUVs, green convertibles to vintage four-wheelers.
This is the ‘Auto Expo — The Motor Show 2023’, the 16th edition of India’s flagship automobile show that returned after a year-long pandemic hiatus.
The show was open to the public from 13 to 18 January.
But this year, there was one thing that was different — as the world moves toward cleaner fuel sources, the expo mirrored the trend, showcasing an array of electric vehicles and alternate fuel-powered vehicles.
“The entire show revolved around sustainable mobility and decarbonisation with a thrust on five specific initiatives namely ‘Surakshit Safar’ focusing on road safety; ‘Jaivik Pahal’ for promotion of bio-fuel vehicles; ‘Vidyutikaran’ focusing on electrification of vehicles; ‘Chakriyata’ focusing on the recycling of vehicles and ‘Gas Gatishilta’ focusing on gas mobility,” Vinod Aggarwal, president of the Society of Indian Manufacturers (SIAM), one of the organisers, said in a statement.
The expo was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), SIAM, and the Automotive Component Manufacturers of India (ACMA).
The show saw 6,36,743 visitors, over 28,000 more than in February 2020, the last time the show was held. This year’s turnout was “the highest ever”, according to the statement.
The footfall was massive despite the fact that several big names such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Volkswagen, and Skoda, as well as the three big luxury car makers, Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Audi, gave the expo a miss this year.
The crowds also came despite the expo being a duller affair than usual. The show, which has previously boasted of cricketing stars Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli and Bollywood stars such as Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, and Alia Bhatt endorsing brands, saw just one star appearance this year — Shah Rukh Khan.
“Auto Expo 2023 which highlighted the focus on clean energy (capabilities showcased in LNG, EV, and Hydrogen Fuel Cell) across OEMs and segments. While the shift towards EV has been underway for 2Ws, 3Ws and PVs, for the first time CV segment highlighted initiatives in EVs and hydrogen (both ICE and fuel cells) across leading OEMs,” financial advisory firm Yes Security said in a note.
An ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle is an automobile powered by conventional oil-derived resources such as petrol or diesel.
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From five-doored SUVs to electric scooters
The event, which was opened to the media on 11 January, was kicked off by the country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI). The company unveiled its much-awaited electric car, the eVX SUV, which will be launched in the Indian market in 2025.
The showcased concept car is close to the production model, and its importance in the company’s portfolio can be assessed by the fact that Toshihiro Suzuki, representative director and president of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, flew down for the unveiling.
However, although a lot of the spotlight at the MSI pavilion was on the eVX, it was the company’s much-anticipated five-door Jimny that was the star of the show.
MSI also unveiled another SUV — the Fronx — as it looks to get back the market share it had been losing due to the lack of SUVs in its product mix. The Jimny and Fronx were among the very few new ICE cars announced at the expo. MSI also unveiled the WagonR flex fuel prototype.
Besides MSI, other major players that participated in the expo were Hyundai Motor India, Kia India, MG Motor, Tata Motors, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Lexus India, and BYD.
Except for a couple of showcases in the flexi-fuel or ethanol-powered vehicles, almost all major two-wheeler makers too were missing in action.
Stars of the show
Instead, a lot of action this year was seen from two-wheeler start-ups such as Cummins and Joy E-bikes, who launched their products, and Jupiter Electric Mobility, Greaves Cotton, and Tork Motors, all of which showcased their electric vehicles.
Although this year was a duller affair, it was by no means bereft of star power. Not only did Hyundai Motor India’s ambassador Shah Rukh Khan make an appearance at the launch of the company’s Ionic 5 model, but the event also saw Boston Dynamics’ popular robot-dog Spot make its India debut.
Being the only luxury car maker at the expo, Lexus, the luxury arm of Japanese auto major Toyota, was a big crowd-puller. The company unveiled the 5th generation of RX SUV, and showcased one of the best-looking cars at the expo — the LF30 electric car with a futuristic-looking cockpit and doors that open up like a batmobile.
Tata Motors pavilion was also a big draw for visitors. The company showcased vehicles such as Avinya EV, Harrier EV, Tata Sierra, and the mid-size SUV Curvv.
Sierra and Curvv are expected to be launched in both ICE as well as EV (electric vehicle) variants.
Besides these, Tata Motors also showcased CNG variants of Punch and Altroz at the expo.
The components show, which is the second part of the auto expo, saw the largest participation ever — 1,22,500 business delegates from 65 countries attend the show.
That show, which was held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, and is largely a B2B event, was held from 12 to 15 January and had over 800 exhibitors from 15 countries.
Sunjay Kapur, president of the Automotive Component Manufacturers of India, said in a statement that the 16th Auto Expo 2023- Component highlights “the shift in automotive trends towards clean technology, software, connected, autonomous & shared mobility, and electrification”.
“Visitors were excited to see advanced and innovative technology solutions for safer driving, which is expected to become increasingly important in the future. The show demonstrates the confidence and readiness of the Indian auto component industry for the future of mobility,” the statement said.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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