Even though the organisers of the Auto Expo 2023 — the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) — have not revealed the final list of participants at the country’s largest motor show, sources have told FE that it will be a show dominated by electric vehicles (EVs), with as many as 30 pure EV OEM participants.
Of these, 24 will be in the two-wheeler and the three-wheeler space. These include Tork Motors, Okinawa Autotech, Hero Eco Tech, Ultraviolette, Wardwizard, Greaves Cotton and many others.
Also Read: Surge in battery costs may lead to 5-7% hike in EV prices
There will be three pure EV OEMs in the passenger vehicle space (BYD India, Vayve Mobility and Pravaig Dynamics) and three in the pure EV commercial vehicle space (Omega Seiki, Hexall Motors and Jupiter Electric Mobility).
During the last edition of the Auto Expo (in 2020), there were half as many pure EV OEM participants, and some of those were from China, who have since shut shop.
Even the non-pure EV passenger vehicle OEMs will have a big spread of EVs on their pavilions. Hyundai India, for example, will showcase the Ioniq 5, a born-electric car. MG Motor and Tata Motors will have a sizeable number of EV models on their pavilions. Maruti Suzuki, which doesn’t have an EV in its portfolio, will display an electric concept SUV.
“Auto shows around the world are becoming mobility shows, and India may also witness the same trend,” Rajat Mahajan, partner, Deloitte India, told FE. “This opens the field for OEMs across segments along with start-ups showcasing advancements in EVs, alternate fuels, battery, navigation, connected technology and other mobility areas.”
Also Read: Tata Tiago EV to get a price hike next month: Details
He added that at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit (in September 2022) the centres of attraction were EVs and multimodal mobility solutions. “There is similar expectation from the Auto Expo 2023,” he said. “Motor shows in general need to evolve to stay relevant to the mobility ecosystem, or else we may see a trend where EV and mobility technology names shift elsewhere — as globally many mobility players have shifted to the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) from pure motor shows.”
While electric two-wheelers don’t form even 10% of overall two-wheeler sales (about a million units each month), these have been rising gradually. As per Vahan data, electric two-wheeler sales have increased from 44,844 units in July 2022 to the highest ever 76,458 units in October and 76,438 units in November.
Saket Mehra, partner & auto sector leader at Grant Thornton Bharat, told FE that new-age start-ups in the mobility space and EVs are expected to gather spotlight at the Auto Expo 2023. “The forthcoming Auto Expo has garnered major interest within the industry, since it is the first post-pandemic edition, and is also expected to host key participants from the EV ecosystem,” he said. “As the EV industry (for passenger vehicles) has witnessed an unmatched upsurge in the last two years in India, which was also the pandemic era, hence this will be the first time the event will be hosting substantial number of EV players, vis-à-vis previous Auto Expo editions.”
Sales of EVs in the passenger vehicle space have also been rising — these have more than doubled from 2,150 units in April 2022 to 5,376 units in November — but form a fraction of total sales (in November, for example, 276,231 passenger vehicles were sold).
The Auto Expo 2023 will also have an ethanol pavilion, road safety campaign, vintage cars display and cartist (a pavilion showcasing artefacts/art using old vehicles and vehicle parts).
