Small is beautiful: Compact cars highlight Delhi auto show

It doesn’t get any bigger than this. Or should we say smaller. Two years after Ratan Tata captured the country’s imagination by introducing the Tata Nano, popularly known as the People’s Car, some of the world’s biggest vehicle makers will unveil their compact cars at the Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi. The exhibition, which begins on Tuesday and goes on till January 11, will boast of names like Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Suzuki, BMW, General
Motors, Mitsubishi, Daimler, Fiat, Ford and Hyundai.

Volkswagen, which is perhaps the world’s largest car maker after displacing Japanese company Toyota Motors Corp, will unveil its Polo hatchback and announce its entry in the small car segment in India. The vehicle, which has bagged the European Car of the Year award and enjoys a five star EuroNCAP crash test rating (an indication of the advanced safety features in the car), is expected to hit Indian showrooms by March.

The car was first showcased at the Geneva Motor Show last year and is expected to be available in petrol and diesel variants in five trim levels. Maruti Suzuki Alto, A-Star and Swift, along with Hyundai’s Santro, Getz and the popular i10, will face competition from Ford Motor Co’s Figo. The other big player, Nissan-Renault, will flaunt its small wonder Micra at the exhibition.

Apart from these vehicles, General Motors India will launch the Beat, which is smaller than Chevrolet’s Spark and is expected to be priced lower too. Toyota Kirloskar Motors has also lined up the launch of its small car in two versions: hatchback (two-box car without the boot) and sedan (three-box car with boot). Honda Siel Cars India, too, will showcase its small car.

A flurry of activity is expected on the commercial front. But there won’t be too many high-profile launches in the two-wheeler segment, except the new 110cc Honda CB Twister. In the bigger bike category, Harley Davidson, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda should flaunt their beauties.

This year’s India Motor Show is tipped to be the second-largest automotive event in the world after the Shanghai Motor Show. More than 18 lakh visitors are expected to attend the event. The Shanghai Motor Show attracts over 20 lakh visitors every year.