Gearing up for the Auto Expo 2018

The Auto Expo continues to be India’s leading automotive fair. Though with the move to its new venue in Greater Noida and separation of the components part of the show, it seems to have diminished slightly in size and stature.

The Auto Expo has struggled to regain the heights it was elevated to, since the global hype surrounding the debut of the small car from Tata Motors at the 2008 Auto Expo. In the decade since the world premiere of the Nano, the Auto Expo has shrunk in size and cemented its position as a regional show rather than a global one. The withdrawal of a number of manufacturers from this year’s show may not hit the show as badly as expected because of the arrival of new manufacturers to the Indian automotive scene and their participation in the Expo. But it does affect the sentiment and the stature of the show on the whole. For it to be relevant and emerge as a player on the global scene, the Auto Expo has to ensure participation of the entire industry and make it imperative for everyone to attend. Hopefully, once the show moves back to its central location, there may be a case to push it back where it belongs, that is amongst the top five auto shows globally.

In this issue we focus on the Auto Show as we preview what all is going to be on display and hope that after the lessons learnt from the previous couple of times, SIAM is able to organise and run a show of which we can be proud.

Also in this issue we pitch the new Renault Captur against the competition and also its own sibling in the form of the Nissan Terrano to find out which is the best mid-sized SUV in the country and whether someone can relinquish the title from the Hyundai Creta.

And lastly, do enjoy the Auto Expo and drive and ride safely to the show and back. If by any chance you are not able to make it then we will have detailed coverage of the show in our next issue.