The five-day expo will also showcase innovative systems like vehicle tracking Intelligent Transport Management System.
The biennial automotive show Auto Expo went underway on Wednesday morning at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida with over 80 new models slated to be unveiled in the next two days.
While the first two days are open to media and business visitors, the expo will be open to the public from February 5 to 9. The Expo is being jointly organised by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA).
Electric, hybrid vehicles focus
The 13th edition of Auto Expo 2016 will focus on electric and hybrid vehicles with a theme of mobility for all. The show will see products from over 100 exhibitors out of which 65 will be vehicle manufacturers as against 55 in the previous edition which saw launch of around 70 products.
Indian and several foreign auto manufacturers are betting big on the event to propel their products into the Indian market and onto the Indian roads. The five-day expo will also showcase innovative systems like vehicle tracking Intelligent Transport Management System.
Clean technologies which will define future of mobility will also be showcased.
Auto Components Show 2016
Coinciding with the Auto Expo, ACMA is also hosting the components show at the Pragati Maidan in the national capital from tomorrow, in which around 1,500 exhibitors are participating.
Around 900 of them are Indian firms, while the remaining 600 are from overseas, including China, Canada, Germany, Japan and South Korea.
The auto expo is being held at a time when the automobile manufacturers are under pressure, especially those that have diesel cars in their portfolio amid rising concerns over pollution, especially in Delhi-NCR, where diesel Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and cars with engines above 2,000cc have been banned following a Supreme Court order.
Some of the participants are, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra, Hyundai Motor India, Honda Cars India, Tata Motors and Audi, among others. New participants include Jeep, Polaris, and Italian motorcycle maker Benelli. Some companies have also given it a miss citing high costs and low returns on investments. These include Bajaj Auto, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), Royal Enfield and Harley Davidson.
Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj on Monday said it is too expensive to participate in the biennial show and wasteful to create expensive concepts.
ALSO READ: Delhi Auto Expo too expensive to participate: Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj
Moreover, Tata Motors, on Tuesday announced that it will rename their soon-to-be-launched hatchback Zica. The decision to rename the car came the name was was immediately linked to the massive outbreak of the 'Zika' virus.
ALSO READ: After Zika virus outbreak, Tata Motors announces renaming of new hatchback Zica
Further, Maruti Suzuki India has just unveiled the SUV Vitara Brezza on Wednesday at the Expo, a global product in which Indian engineers have played a major role in design and development.
ALSO READ: Expect Maruti Suzuki to develop India-specific products, says Suzuki Motor's President
Nevertheless, the organisers have been upbeat that there will be an increase in the number of footfalls to seven lakh this time. Around 5.6 lakh people visited the show during the last edition. Exhibition space has also been increased to 73,000 square metres from the earlier 69,000 square metres.
(With agencies input)
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