Auto Expo to witness 24 new new launches, to be largest

Mumbai, Jan 15 (PTI) The 14th edition of the biennialAuto Expo, slated for February 9-14, is expected to see 24 newlaunches and over 100 unveiling of vehicles, the organiserssaid today.The expo is being held at the India Expo Mart inGreater Noida, near the Capital, while components show will beheld at the Pragati Maidan in Delhi from February 8-11.The joint inauguration of Auto Expo 2018 will be heldon February 8."We are going to see over 24 launches and unveiling ofover 100 vehicles during the expo," Society for Indian MobileAutomobile Manufacturers Association (SIAM) head Sugato Sensaid here during a media conference.This year's show will be much higher than the 2016edition, which saw only two-three launches, he said.The new launches and unveiling of the products will befrom across segments --passenger and commercial vehicles andtwo-wheelers."On February 7-8, there is a preview of more than 100products," chairman of the SIAM trade fair group, ArunMalhotra said.The expo is being organised by SIAM jointly with theAutomotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA)and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).Asked about some of the leasing players such asNissan, Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda, Ford and Ducati, skipping themega event, Sen said the trend generally has been that only 50per cent of the SIAM members participate in the show."Some of the regulars have opted out. We have 48members and none of the event in the past has seen more than50 percent participation," Sen said.He, however, refuted reports in a section of themedia, saying companies are skipping the show due to high costof participation, adding there are some new entrants likeKorean Kia Motors and Japanese Kawasaki in the current expo."India right now is going through a huge disruption inthe auto market. With direct transition from BS-IV to BS-VI intwo years and the EV plan etc, companies are not reallybringing in new conventional vehicles anymore," he said."Also, we have not changed the space rentals since2012. On the contrary, we have reduced them by offeringdiscounts," he said.For the members, SIAM, offer space at Rs 8,200 per square meter rpt square meter as against Rs 8,900 per square meter he said.

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