Auto Expo 2023: Here's why some top carmakers opted out of the mega event

If you are an automobile enthusiast, and love to drool over glitzy new car models and future technologies, then your wait is finally over. After a delay of about a year, the country’s flagship automobile event—Auto Expo 2023—is back in town. Starting January 13, the latest edition of the expo is expected to host dozens of launches, as celebrity brand ambassadors glitter exhibition halls amid a frenzy of car lovers and industry stalwarts. Spread over six days, the event this time is being organised after three years, instead of two years, as the third Covid-19 wave in 2022 forced organisers to postpone the flagship show, leaving many disappointed.

Organisers, however, are ever more enthusiastic about the Auto Expo 2023 that will be held in two venues across the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). While the auto components galleries will be hosted at the original venue of Pragati Maidan complex in Delhi, the passenger four-wheelers and two-wheelers, along with commercial vehicles, would be lined up at the India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida. And to lure the fence-sitters, manufacturers are expected to fly down a host of crowd-pullers like Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh and Varun Dhawan, among others. Conceptualised in 1985, the expo made its debut a year later in Pragati Maidan and, by 2006, had begun to host new launches.

Yet, amidst the expected revelry, there is a tinge of despondence. While over the years, the Auto Expo has been witness to many ups and downs, this year, a vastly shrunk line-up of major auto brands is a dampener. Even as leading car makers such as Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Tata Motors and Toyota are expected to unveil some of their concepts, a host of auto majors including Mahindra & Mahindra, Volkswagen, Skoda, Honda Cars, Nissan and Renault have decided to give it a miss (see ‘Hits & Misses’). In the luxury cars segment—a crowd-puller for auto expos across the globe—the latest edition has drawn a near blank. From Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Volvo to Porsche, Lamborghini and Jaguar Land Rover, most of the big luxury car brands are staying away, with only Lexus confirming its presence in the show.

In the ICE (internal combustion engine) two-wheeler segment, the interest is even lower. Patrons will miss five of the country’s top two-wheeler makers—Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Company and Royal Enfield—at the expo. Coincidentally, these brands were absent in the previous edition hosted in 2020, too.

While the companies have not given any explanation for their lack of interest in the event of late, industry sources say multiple factors have affected their decision. According to a senior executive from a major two-wheeler maker, the timing and venue of the event have made it less attractive. “Given the harsh cold weather conditions in early January and the distant location of the event venue (from Delhi), we do not expect much returns on our investment,” he says.

Putting up a brave face is the country’s top industry body for automobile makers and the organiser of the Auto Expo, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). According to Rajesh Menon, Director General of SIAM, participation of manufacturers varies from year to year. “In 2020, Toyota had skipped the event, but they are participating this time. So, there is no general trend that car manufacturers are moving away from Auto Expo. In the last edition, we had record footfalls at the venue of over 600,000,” he tells BT.

Menon is right. But it is also clear that the cancellation of the 2022 Auto Expo due to the pandemic has resulted in some companies not participating this time. “Companies prepare and plan for the Auto Expo over two years and line up their launches accordingly. However, as the expo had to be postponed for a year, many of the leading brands launched their planned models in 2022. This is a key factor behind them not participating this time,” an industry insider says on condition of anonymity.

At the same time, declining interest among two-wheeler buyers for ICE models may also have played a role in leading brands skipping the event since 2018. According to Menon, this time, vehicles sporting alternate fuel technologies will be a major attraction for auto enthusiasts. “This is a platform where the industry and enthusiasts will get to witness the new trends of the industry, especially in terms of different types of powertrains that are coming up. There is a lot of focus on pure electric vehicles and we have a host of such players participating this time,” he says. An ethanol pavilion is also being set up to showcase its usage as a reliable future fuel. Additionally, new alternate technologies such as hydrogen ICE would be in focus this time with manufacturers such as Suzuki and Yamaha showcasing their concept offerings, apart from CNG technology.

The showstopper at this year’s Auto Expo will most certainly be Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), the country’s largest passenger car manufacturer, which is set to unveil its electric vehicle concept and a range of SUVs at its pavilion. It will display an array of 16 vehicles including an electric concept SUV, two new ICE SUVs, WagonR flex fuel prototype, and a customised range of existing products like Grand Vitara, XL6, Ciaz, Ertiga, Brezza, Baleno and Swift, among others. “Our showcases at Auto Expo ’23 will highlight Maruti Suzuki’s commitment towards cleaner, greener, sustainable and carbon-neutral offerings for tomorrow. We are confident that our range of all-new SUVs, futuristic concept EV, hybrid, flex-fuel prototype and products will capture the imagination of enthusiasts,” says Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, MSIL.

@arndutt