Over the years Auto Expo which has proved a big show of strength of the country’s expertise and capability in the field of 
manufacturing vehicles as well as auto components, parts and accessories has now emerged as one of the largest automotive expos in Asia. The show will take a completely different avatar in its 12th edition this year.
For the last 27 years, Auto Expo, jointly organized by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is being held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. However, with the rapid growth of the industry in the country, the show has now grown in size, and there is no single venue available to accommodate the entire show.
In view of space constraints, the forthcoming edition of Auto Expo will be spread over two separate venues. The Component Show 2014 will continue to be held at Pragati Maidan during February 6-9, while Auto Expo – the Motor Show 2014 will be held at India Expo Mart Ltd. (IEML), Greater Noida, during February 7-11.
At the Motor Show, February 5 has been kept exclusively as media day to enable media representatives to have an extensive look and engage with senior representatives of the participating companies, while on February 6, the Motor Show will be open to media, dealers and select guests.
Tackling the downturn
Auto Expo comes at a time when the Indian auto industry is going through one of the worst slowdowns in history. While downturns are typically accompanied by various cost-cutting measures, it also leads to increase in focus on R&D and new product development which would benefit the end customer and pay dividends when the market does start picking up.
Speaking at a press meet in Chennai, Mr. Vinod Dasari, SIAM Vice President, said: “A downturn does not stop innovation, in fact it feeds it even more. This is probably the best time to showcase new products to help customers by improving comfort levels, fuel efficiency, tyre life and the overall cost of ownership.”
In order to attract good interest for the shows amidst the downturn, the organizers of Auto Expo – SIAM, ACMA and CII – had held press conferences in Chennai and Mumbai as part of their aggressive campaign to promote the show, to be held in its new double avatar for the first time.
Mr. Vikram Kirloskar, SIAM President, said: “The last 12 months have been very tough for the auto industry, and we are very focused on the Auto Expo to give some excitement to the market in the coming year. We are doing our best to put up a very good show which would create excitement among customers and provide opportunities for new launches and highlight the efforts put in by the industry to improve quality levels and offer better products for customers.”
The Motor Show has attracted participation from almost all the domestic and international vehicle manufacturers across segments in the country with preparations in full swing towards working it a world-class auto fair. Special focus is on the smooth conduct of the show with most attention paid to issues like security, ticketing, commutation, parking and availability of food.
With the Component Show being open only to business visitors, the show organizers are likely to run two buses shuttling between the two venues throughout the day to make it easier for industry executives to visit both shows. The Component Show is set to have its own range of attractions, including country pavilions of China, Taiwan, the UK, Canada, Germany, Korea and Japan, in addition to company participation from many other countries.
Online booking of tickets for Auto Expo on
The organizers of the 12th Auto Expo – The Motor Show 2014 have announced commencement of online booking of tickets (at www.bookmyshow.com) with effect from December 20 for the event to be held during February 7-11, 2014.
The ticket costs Rs. 200 for general visitors during the general hours on weekdays and Rs. 300 for week-ends. For business visitors, the ticket will cost Rs. 500 for business hours on weekdays.
Apart from online booking options, tickets will also be available at select locations in NCR-Delhi through the Bookmyshow phone booking facility and direct purchase option near the venue during the show.