There is some disappointing news for the auto lovers. The organisers of the upcoming Auto Expo have decided to restrict entry at India’s largest automotive show to 100,000 visitors a day to prevent a repeat of the chaos seen during the earlier exhibitions.
The Auto Expo 2012 will be a week-long affair, beginning January 5 in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan, making it a smaller show than the previous edition when 1.2 million visitors turned up over 10 days.
The exhibition area will be reduced to 1.15 lakh square metres with 16 permanent halls from the 1.25 lakh sq metre spread in 2010.
This makes the Indian Auto Expo the second largest automotive exhibition after the Shanghai Motor Show. “There is a limit to the infrastructure that can accommodate the exhibitors and visitors,” the Auto Expo 2012 Steering Committee Chairman Rajive Kaul said, “So we have decided to restrict the number to manage the show effectively.”
Attendance of the general visitors will be restricted to 70,000 a day, reserving the rest of the slots for the 1,500 participants from 24 countries and other officials. Nearly 60 new cars, bikes, buses and trucks will be launched at the upcoming show, however, doubling the launches from the previous edition.
The highlights include 24 new cars to be unveiled by domestic companies and eight by global players, besides eight two-wheelers by Indian manufacturers such as Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto. The all-new BMW Mini, Maruti Ertiga MPV, SUV concept and many more, Ford Ecosport, Hyundai Sonata & Elantra and Volkswagen UP! are among the bigticket launches that the industry is awaiting. Amongst the two-wheelers: Bajaj will display the Duke 200 and may be the Pulsar concept. Suzuki is going to launch a new scooter, British motorcycle maker Triumph will make its official debut.
The biennial exhibition is organised jointly by industry lobby groups SIAM, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry.