AUTO EXPO 2020: Determination and preparedness of the industry pitched aloud

India’s biggest automotive event – the Auto Expo 2020 which includes the Motor Show and the Components Show – turned out to be a decisive platform for the domestic automotive industry to preserve its reputation and affirm business as usual. Despite all odds, the expo opened up new technological avenues and collaborative spirit as the way forward for the industry.

For those living in the ‘automotive town’ in our country, every ‘even’ year is embellished with a great fiesta as a tradition for the past three decades – a business festival for everyone with definitive giveaways and takeaways! The excitement that it evokes among the industry folks and media is unmatched, while the festive preparation also acts as an essential stimulus for the stakeholders to bring our something new and pushing the horizons of the industry further and farther. This year, however, things were unusual. The customary excitement panned out with a bit of skepticism among all the stakeholders of the industry, and the wariness kept on brimming up until the last hours of the expo.

The prolonged slowdown and structured de-growth that the automotive industry has been facing since mid last year was the definite culprit behind dampened sentiments among the stakeholders. While a bunch of prominent automakers invariably from almost all product segments chose to skip this year’s edition of the motor show, a similar trend was expected at the auto components expo as well. However, things weren’t as worse as predicted. Although the motor show did give us a ‘lacklustre feeling’ owing to a limited expanse of exhibit halls and absence of exotic brands, especially in comparison to that of 2016 and 2018 editions, the expo scored brownie points with a motley of Chinese newcomers and futuristic exhibits including that of electric, connected and BS-VI vehicles.