Until not so long ago, the Auto Expo held every two years at Delhi?s Pragati Maidan was a pale imitation of its glamorous equivalent in Shanghai, let alone the far glitzier and technically more significant auto shows in Tokyo and elsewhere. Still, over the past two decades that saw the very conception of personal transportation transform itself beyond all recognition in India, the week-long Delhi Auto Expo has seen its visitors swell to exceed an estimated one million, making it one of the world?s biggest regulars on the event calendar. This year, expect the crowds converging on the ninth Auto Expo?organised jointly by Siam, CII and Acma?to be of pilgrimage proportions. Pragati Maidan not only has a bustling Metro Rail station now, eliminating the old hassles of parking and access, it will feature as its centrepiece the long-awaited unveiling of an object of genuine global curiosity and local market desire: Tata Motors? Rs 1-lakh car.
For those who are unable to get anywhere within air-kissing distance of the hottest new set of wheels scheduled to hit Indian tarmac in 2008, there will be other attractions as well. In fact, all other major motor companies?except Toyota and Ford, which are busy sweating it out for the No 2 spot in the US?have been working overtime to keep Tata from stealing the entire show for itself. So, expect much on display that will turn onlookers? drool buds active. Tata?s principal rival in India, Maruti, hopes to engage attention with it?s all-new A-Star, a car for the design-sensitive as much as the new Zen Estilo has proven itself to be. General Motors will showcase its Captiva, an SUV to be launched in India. Honda will play the technical wizard with its FCX, a vehicle that runs on electricity fuel cells and thus helps keep carbon emissions low and the planet cool. But it will only be Bajaj Auto, the two- and three-wheeler maker, that will dare to go directly against Tata?s Rs 1-lakh car that has achieved cult status even before the market at large has even had a glimpse of it. Bajaj will go bonnet-to-bonnet, bumper-to-bumper and sticker-to-sticker (almost) with Tata?s car with its own little Rs 1.17-lakh alternative. That?s the beauty of such a vast market becoming competitive, with companies striving to outdo one another?s paradigm busters. It?s one more reason for even bigger crowds.
