first post ebook autoexpo ebook 20120113042621

8/3/2019 First Post eBook AutoExpo eBook 20120113042621

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the boldandthe beautiful


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The Bold...Auto expo 2012: Buckle up, its the year of the SUVs

Indias most expensive bicycleworth two Tata Nanos!

Say hello to DC Avanti: Indias first indigenous sports car

Bajajs RE60: an auto, a car, a Nano killer?

Get ready for the return of the Vespa!

Will Hondas low-cost bike rub the sheen off Heros Splendor?

The beautiful...

Auto Expo 2012: Royal Enfield unveils Thunderbird 500

Auto Expo 2012: GM unveils premium hatchbackAuto Expo 2012: BMWs iconic Mini comes to India

Auto Expo: Cars, stars and more

And the plain unattractiveWhats worse than the chaos on our roads? Our Auto Expo!

Delhi Auto Expo: A fire hazard?

Green cars headline Delhi Auto Expo, but India not ready

They rape us with their eyes: The life of an Auto Expo model
http://www.firstpost.com/


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The Bold...


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Auto expo 2012:

Buckle up, its the year of

the SUVs

Mean machines are here, yet again. In the backdrop

of a slowdown of car sales and fuel prices going

North, the auto makers are set to showcase the new

cars and bikes in Auto Expo 2012.

Danish Raza, Jan 3, 2012


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New Delhi: Mean machines are here,

yet again. In the backdrop of a slow-down of car sales and fuel prices going

North, the auto makers are set to showcase thenew cars and bikes in Auto Expo 2012.

Unlike previous editions of the Auto Expo, theautomobile market is dull in India. As such, theexhibition is expected to create excitement inthe market and lure the customers, said TutuDhawan, auto expert, about the fair scheduled

between 5 and 12 January in Pragati Maidan,Delhi.

The line- up of vehicles shows that the SUVmarket will get crowded this year. There will

be Q3, the smallest SUV from Audi and RangeRover Evoque in the expensive category.

Among small affordable SUVs, the exhibitionwill display Renault Duster Renaults rst inthe segment, Mahindra Mini Xylo, Safari Stormand the new avatar of Toyota Fortuner.

That is six SUVs in total.

This year, the manufacturers will explore theSUV sector because there is a lot of scope and

solid demand in this category which has so farbeen ruled by Safari and Scorpio, said SirishChandra, editor, Overdrive.

In the luxury segment, BMW will showcaseBMW Mini. The smallest car of the Germanauto-maker, that will cost around Rs 20 lakh.

Mercedes concept car A-class and the range ofsmall cars are bound to hog the limelight at the

fair.

Volkswagen will launch its modied Touareg-the 50-lakh-plus car.

I am eagerly waiting for Mini. This is a smallsports car high on style, said Murad Ali Baig,auto expert.

Maruti loyalists will get to see an all new Maruti800, said to be the car makers answer to TataNano.

Maruti will also unveil Ertiga, the companysrst MPV and the new version of Swift Dzire.

Tata is coming up with Nano Diesel 2012. The2012 model is really peppy. It has an excellent

AC and is spacious. These days, people do notwant a ghareeb (poor) car. They want a cutecar, said Dhawan.

In the Expo, you might also get to see RE 60,

Bajajs entry level carrier which has created lotof buzz in the auto sector.

Hyundai has made a solid market in the smallcar segment with Santro. In 2012, the company

will focus on the luxury segment. Hyundai haslined up Sonata and premium sedan Elantra.

Ford will launch Fiesta Hatchback 2012.

Reva NXR electric car, designed by Dilip Chhab-ria, is expected to grab quite a few eyeballs.

A car is no more a utility item. It is a statussymbol. People want something better and big-ger as a class statement. If someone can afford aMaritu 800, he will try going for an Alto to showthat he has grown up, said Dhawan.

Participants from 24 countries are expected to

launch over 60 vehicles in the 11th edition of thebiennial fair in Delhi. Out of these, eight will beglobal launches.


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New Delhi: The bicycle is no morethe poor mans sawaari. In fact, theamount you would have to shell out to

own Indias most expensive bicycle could fetchyou at least two Tata Nanos!

The Auto Expo 2012 has seen Firefox launchthe Trek Elite 9.9 SSL- positioned as an off road

bike (not bicycle). Priced at a whopping Rs 4.25lakh, this is unlike any bicycle we have seen inthe country so far.

And what do you get for Rs 4.5 lakh? Firstly youget a bike that gives lightweight a new deni-tion. With a single frame constructed of carbonbre, the Trek Elite weighs in at just 10kg. And

according to Ajit Gandhi, Deputy General Man-ager, Firefox, it is also constructed using OCLV(optimum compaction, low void) technology,

which is used to construct space ships.

The bike also has 20 speed gears, hydraulic

disc brakes that are used for motorbikes, andhydraulic suspension. Added to this, some ofthe Trek Elites gear and brake components areconstructed using titanium- an expensive butlightweight material.

In the last auto expo, the company launched theTrek Equinox priced at Rs 2.45 lakh. It was themost expensive bicycle in India at that time.

Now the Trek Elite has taken that position.This is an off road bike meant for mountain-eers, said Ajit Gandhi, adding that Trek Eite

will be available only on order.

Indias most

expensive bicycleworth two Tata Nanos!The Trek Elite which is priced at Rs 4.5 lakh,

weighs just 10kg and is constructed with the same

technology used to make spaceships.



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Say hello to DC Avanti:

Indias first indigenoussports car

The DC Avanti is powered by a 2.0 litre four

cylinder Ford petrol engine which generates 261 bhp.

It is expected to go from 0- 97km/h in 7seconds, and

will cost half the price of an imported sports car.



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New Delhi: Zooming down Indiasroads in a hot new sports car will soon

be an affordable dream. Say Hi to DCAvanti Indias rst indigenous sports car, cus-tom made for Indian roads, and billed at a verycompetitive Rs. 24 Lakh (ex-showroom).

This is good value for money because any im-ported sports car would not cost less than Rs 50lakh, said Murad Ali Baig, auto expert.

DC Avanti was unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo2012 by Dileep Chhabria, the man known forcustomizing or modifying every car from theNano to the Lamborghini. This is meant forthose who aspire to own a sports car but cannotafford a BMW, Ferrari or Porsche. There are lotof youngsters who want to pay for the feel good

factor but can compromise a little on the per-formance, said Bonito Chhabria, director, DC.

DC Avanti (Italian for moving forward) is pow-ered by a 2.0 litre four cylinder Ford petrolengine which generates 261 bhp. It is expectedto go from 0- 97km/h in 7seconds. A Honda V6engine will be used in the later assembly line-up.

According to Baig, the advent of the DC Avantireects that India is nally developing the cul-ture for sports cars that has been in existence inEurope and the USA for many years.

The car has created quite a buzz in and outsidethe fair in the national capital.

I booked DC Avanti on the phone from Kolk-atta on the rst day of the expo. I had not evenseen the car then. I have 30 cars. But this isdifferent from anything I have ever seen, saida DC Avanti owner on the condition of anonym-ity. I have come to Delhi just to see what I amgoing to drive from now on, he added.

Auto expert Tutu Dhawan had a word of cau-tion though. It is only with a good after sales

service that such projects can succeed. Buying isthe easy part. One has to see what happens afterthat, he said.

The car will be available at select DC outletsstarting December 2013. Thats still two yearsaway, but possibly well worth the wait!


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Bajajs RE60:

an auto, a car,a Nano killer?

Will the RE60 become the success that the

Tata Nano hoped for but has not yet achieved?

FP Editors, Jan 4, 2012


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Will Bajaj Autos ultra-low-cost four

wheeler, RE60, become a Nano (thesmall car launched by Tata Motors)

killer?

Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto,would probably cringe at that question. As amarketing position, we are an anti-car com-pany, he told a press conference in New Delhion Monday, a fews days before the Auto Expo.This vehicle was born out of the costs and skillsof a two-wheeler market. There must be a start-ing point for a strategy, which, in our case, wasa brand.

The RE60 represents the culmination of afour-year project to introduce an ultra-low-costfour-wheel vehicle for Bajaj Auto. To be sure,

the company, when it started on the project in2007, did indeed set out to create a Nano rivalin collaboration with partner Renault Nissan.

However, the concept was dropped because itdid not make sense. The better option was to

go in for a four-wheeler, said Bajaj, addingthat the RE60 was eventually completely devel-oped in-house.

Just as well to call it a four-wheeler than aNano killer. After all, theres not much left tokill in the Nano; poor market positioning anddistribution network has left the car, oncetouted as the worlds cheapest, struggling to nd

buyers in the Indian market. Plus, in terms oflooks, the RE60 is a bit gawky and doesnt quite

look like a car either.

Nevertheless, its highly likely that comparisonswill be made, at least in terms of pricing.

According to a Business Line report, the RE60,which weighs barely 400 kilograms, is expectedto cost around Rs 1.8 lakh and will be producedin Aurangabad, Bajaj Autos production basefor its three-wheeler range. Fitted with a 200-ccrear engine, it will have petrol and CNG/LPGfuel options.

During the unveiling of the model, the companyoutlined some parts of its strategy for selling theRE60.

One, in India, the company is eyeing the mar-ket of ve million three-wheelers in India, norordinary individuals looking to buy their rstcar, as its target audience. Since Bajaj Auto isthe dominant producer of three-wheelers in thecountry, that means its not trying to grab mar-

ket share from other companies; instead, it willattempt to convert its own customers to opt forthe RE60. I feel that in the next 10 years, thatentire eet can be replaced with something likethis, said Bajaj.

Three-wheeler commuters are unlikely tocomplain auto rickshaws and good-carryingthree-wheelers have always been perceived to

be somewhat of a safety hazard because of their

instability (three wheels) and lack of a properroof or side doors (in the case of auto rickshawsin particular).

According to a Business Today report, the com-pany already has an ally in Delhis Chief Minis-ter, Sheila Dixit, who apparently is quite eagerto get rid of these eyesores (autorickshaws)from the city. Do not be surprised if a diktat toreplace all three-wheelers with products like the

RE60 happens within a year or so, the reportnoted.


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Two, if priced right, the environmental friendli-ness and high fuel efciency could add to the al-lure of the RE60 within its target three-wheelermarket. According to media reports, the vehi-cles fuel efciency is said to be more 35 kilome-tres per litre. In contrast, the Tata Nano offersabout 25 kilometres per litre.

In addition, the RE60 emits just 60 grams ofcarbon dioxide per kilometre the lowest for asmall car anywhere in the world, according toexperts, which should further bolster the appealof the vehicle among state governments seekingto cut down carbon emissions in urban centres.It is being touted as a green replacement forautorickshaws.

Three, Bajaj Auto plans to aggressively market

the RE60 in global markets. At the press con-ference, Bajaj said that Sri Lanka could, quitepossibly, be the rst market where the RE60is launched, even ahead of India. In Sri Lanka,

however, the target could be ordinary individu-als looking for a cheap self-owned vehicle tocommute. Bajaj Auto already exports 10,000three-wheelers every month to Sri Lanka and90 percent of them are used for personal travel,the company said.

Africa is another market that the company iskeen to tap, especially since public transport inthe continent is extremely poor. This strategyleverages on the companys capacity to sell inoverseas markets. We make about 5,20,000three-wheelers a year, of which only 2,00,000are sold in India; the rest are exported, saidBajaj.

So will the RE60 become the success that theTata Nano hoped for but has not yet achieved?

Only time will tell. But if all goes according toplan (and government regulations permit), wemight soon be saying goodbye to our three-

wheeler rickshaws.


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Get ready for

the return ofthe Vespa!

The Vespa has hobnobbed with the likes of Gregory

Peck, Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. And after a ten

year hiatus its making a triumphant return to

Indias roads.



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New Delhi: Long before Hamara Bajaj

became the two- wheeler of the Indianmiddle class family, and bikes became

the symbol of the Indian males masculinity, itwas the Vespa that romanced our roads. Andnow after a gap of almost 13 years, the iconicscooter is back.

Italian auto company Piaggio, has announcedthat it plans to launch the Vespa 125 cc in theIndian market by March. We are trying to cre-ate a luxury lifestyle brand in the scooter seg-ment, said Ravi Chopra, chairman and manag-ing director, Piaggio Vehicles, India.

In the rst phase of distribution, the companyplans to make the scooter available in 35 townsthrough 50 dealers. Piaggio is yet to reveal the

price of the two- wheeler, but speculations arethat it will cost around Rs 70,000. This ven-ture will also mark the rst time that Piaggiois launching a vehicle in India without a localpartner. Between 1961 and 1971, Bajaj autolimited produced the Vespa. After a brief gap, itreappeared on Indian roads in 1983, in partner-ship with LML as the LML Vespa. That ventureterminated in 1999.

A bit of history for those who are unaware ofhow the Vespa became a phenomenon:

Piaggio rolled out its rst Vespa in 1946. Therewere two- wheelers in that era, but Piaggio gavethe world its rst civilized scooter- it had a mudguard and the rider could sit on it in an uprightposition.

Four years later, Vespa made its movie debut in

the Italian ick Sunday in August. But it reallybecame a Hollywood star when Gregory Peckand Audrey Hepburn maneuvered a Vespa 125through the Rome trafc in the 1953 classic Ro-man Holiday. Since then, the Vespa has fea-tured in countless movies.

Dear Diary, the 1993 lm has a sequence titledIn Vespa on the saddle of a 150 Sprint. In

Ale (2004), Jude Law wides a blue and whiteVespa through the streets of Manhattan, while

Nicole Kidman hops on a yellow Vespa in Syd-ney Pollacks The Interpreter (2005)

But the Vespa is also a Bollywood star! Back

home, we saw Minnisha Laamba pllion rid-ing a Vespa with Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna AeHaseeno (2008). With 150 models, Vespa has apresence in 35 countries.

Both, Bajaj and LML made modications to thecore Vespa design to suit the Indian market,said Sunny Anand of Vespabretta, a Delhi basedcompany that restores vintage Vespas. Anandadded that what can work in favour of the Vespain the current scenario is that It has been adecade since the scooter (Vespa) vanished. Thegap has erased the baggage. The product andthe target customer are different now. Com-menting on the Vespas grand return to Indiahowever, Chopra said, This is the Vespa in itstrue form. This is the version available in Eu-rope.

However, a lot has changed in India since theVespas LML days.

Currently, scooters comprise only around 20percent of the two-wheeler market in India.Scooters in India fall into two broad categories-

utilitarian and feminine. While Bajaj (the com-pany stopped making scooters in late 2009) andHonda (Eterno and Activa) belong to the formercategory, scooties by Bajaj and Kinetic targetfemale customers such as working professionalsand college goers.The bike market however, is more evolved interms of range and clearly dened segments.Lately, the bike is masculine and scooter is fem-inine theory has got resonance. The machoismis translating into robust bike sales.

I believe Vespa will create its own new seg-ment, the way Bajaj Pulsar did in 2001. It at-tracted buyers from various categories, said


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Ramesh Joshi, a Vespa enthusiast.

Another challenge for Vespa can be the fact thatunlike Europe which has Vespa clubs and ral-lies, there is no scooter culture in India.

This time, the effort will be to position Vespaas a fashion statement and not just a utility ve-hicle. It will be about the experience of owninga Vespa. Or, let us say, belonging to the Vespacommunity, Chopra said.

Bike maniacs might think twice before shellingout around Rs 70, 000 to belong to the Vespafamily, but as Joshi, a Vespa enthusiast put it.Bajaj, LML, Honda and Kintetic have all pro-duced scooters. But a Vespa is a Vespa.


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Will Hondas low-cost bike

rub the sheen offHeros Splendor?

The company hopes to introduce a low-cost bike,

possibly the cheapest, in India currently being

manufactured in China at around Rs 30,000

(ex-showroom Delhi).

FP Editors, Jan 6, 2012


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On Thursday, Honda Motorcycle andScooter India, the Indian subsidiaryof Honda Motors, the worlds biggest

motorcycle maker, unveiled the Dream Yuga,its rst bike aimed at the highly lucrative massmarket at the Auto Expo in Delhi.

The 110cc bike, set to be launched in May, wasone of seven models (including variants) show-cased during the expo. Other launches includeda new 110cc Dio scooter as well as the largerCBR150R and 250R bikes.

But the real game-changer could be this: Ac-cording the The Economic Times, the companyhopes to introduce a low-cost bike, possibly thecheapest, in India currently being manufac-tured in China. A top ofcial from the company

told the newspaper that a feasibility study is on.

The Japanese giants Indian subsidiary hopesto sell these 125 cc made-in-China bikes

currently sold in some African markets ataround Rs 30,000 (ex-showroom Delhi), almostRs 4,000 lower than market leader Heros CDDawn and about Rs 18,000 cheaper than theSuper Splendor, The Economic Times said.

Clearly, the gloves are off in the battle to winmarket share. Hero and Honda had been part-ners for nearly 27 years, but last year, decided togo their separate ways. While Hero Honda (the

joint venture) became Hero Motocorp, Honda

became Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India.

The Japanese giant, in particular, seems in nomood to brood as it aggressively charts outplans for market domination.

While it remains to be seen how Chinese madebikes by a Japanese company will be receivedby Indians, theres no doubting the formidablecapacity of Honda. After all, the company has asolid track record of transforming both the mo-torcycle and scooter segments when it enteredthem. In fact, every second scooter chuggingaround on Indian roads is a Honda.

More recently, Honda Motorcycle and ScooterIndia elbowed out TVS to grab third position inthe two-wheeler market. Its next target: Bajaj

Auto the countrys No.2 two-wheeler com-pany.

Very cannily, it is gunning for the budget con-scious 100-125 cc bike market, a segmentdominated by Hero (although mostly because ofHondas technology due to the earlier partner-ship). The Dream Yuga, in fact, is positionedagainst Heros Splendor and Passion in this seg-ment. Sales of 100 cc bikes account for nearlyhalf the Indian motorcycle market, according toindustry experts.

Honda ofcials said they are investing morethan Rs 1,000 crore over the next year to set upa new factory and increase production capacityto four million units in two years and 10 millionunits by 2020.

Our dream is to become the number one mo-torcycle company in India, Keita Muramatsu,president and chief executive ofcer of Honda

Motorcycle and Scooter India, told The Timesof India. Right now, India contributes around13 percent of our global sales and we want toincrease this to 30 percent.

With their track record and radical future plans,they just might accomplish that.


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The beautiful...


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Auto Expo 2012:

Royal Enfield

unveilsThunderbird 500

Royal Eneld today unveiled its 500cc bike

Thunderbird 500, which will hit the Indian roads

later in the year.

PTI, Jan 5, 2012


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New Delhi: Motorcycle maker RoyalEneld today unveiled its 500cc bikeThunderbird 500, which will hit the

Indian roads later in the year.

The company, however, did not disclose theprice of the new model.

After 10 years of launching the Thunderbird,we have completely redesigned the model, espe-cially for the urban and the long distance travel-lers, Eicher Motors MD and CEO SiddharthaLal told reporters here.

The company plans to launch it by the end ofrst half of the year, he added.

Royal Eneld is the two wheeler division of the

BSE-listed Eicher Motors.

The new bike will be manufactured at the com-panys Chennai facility.

Of the 7,000 units of motorcycles sold by Eicherin a month, about 1,000 units is that of Thun-derbird 350cc.

We dont plan to discontinue the 350cc model.The new variant is just an extension of theThunderbird range, Lal said.

The company has also announced the launchof accessories like helmets, jackets and bootsthrough its dealerships across the country.

The accessories will be available from the mid-dle of the year, coinciding with the launch of thenew model, Royal Eneld CEO Venki Pad-manabhan said.

On the launch of its Cafe Racer, Lal said the

bike would be available from the rst half of2013.


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Auto Expo 2012:

GM unveilspremium hatchback

New Delhi: General Motors (GM) todayunveiled two new vehicles under Chev-rolet brands that will be launched later

this year in India.

The Chevrolet Sail (premium hatchback) andChevrolet MPV Concept are the rst two prod-

ucts from GMs joint venture with ShanghaiAutomotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).

The MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) will belaunched in India by the end of this year and thehatchback will be commercially rolled out byJune-July this year, General Motors India VicePresident Corporate Affairs P Balendran said atthe ongoing 11th Auto Expo.

He said both the models would be launched inboth petrol and diesel variants and would becompetitively priced. The engines for the newcars would be manufactured at our plant inTalegaon near Pune, Balendran said.

The company has another plant at Halol inGujarat. The plant at Halol currently has acapacity to produce 85,000 units and it is be-ing expanded to one lakh ten thousand units,Balendran said.

When asked if the GM is planning to expand ca-

pacity of its Talegaon plant he said, We wouldconsider expanding that plant but it will dependon market conditions.

On the rst day of the Auto Show, GM show-cased two latest variants of multi-utility vehicles Chevrolet Tavera Neo3 and Chevrolet Captiva2.2 AT.

In this year we plan to launch another new ver-

sion of one of our cars, he added.

General Motors today unveiled two new vehicles

under Chevrolet brands that will be launched later

this year in India.

PTI, Jan 6, 2012


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The BMW Group launched its iconic Mini brand in

India with four models priced up to Rs 31.99 lakh

after having decided against such a move in the past.

PTI, Jan 6, 2012

New Delhi: The BMW Group launchedits iconic Mini brand in India with fourmodels priced up to Rs 31.99 lakh after

having decided against such a move in the past.

The company has introduced four variants ofthe Miniwhile the Mini Cooper will be priced Rs24.9 lakh, the Mini Cooper S comes with a pricetag of Rs 27.9 lakh.

The Mini Convertible is priced at Rs 29.99 lakh,while the Mini Cooper S Countryman has aprice tag of Rs 31.99 lakh.

The BMW group had earlier planned to bringthe car to the country by 2009, but shelved theplan on account of market conditions.

Yes, its a bit delayed but not too late for theMini to be launched in India, Kay Segler, Sen-ior Vice-President, Mini Brand Managementand Business Coordination, told PTI.

He said the Indian market is now ready for abrand like the Mini as the country has become apart of the global community when it comes tolifestyle trends.

More Indians are travelling and living abroad,they have network overseas and are more awareof trends, Segler said. To start with, the Mini

will have its separate showrooms, two in Delhiand one in Mumbai.

For the initial years, we will keep the numbersthat way and will focus on brand building inIndia, he said.

In terms of sales, the company is not lookingat volumes, he said, adding that there were noplans to assemble the car in India in the nearfuture.

The car will be imported as completely builtunit. Asked about the high import duty imposedon imported cars in India, which could add a tax

burden of about 110 per cent, Segler said it wasnot an issue as the situation was similar in mar-kets like Brazil, Mexico, China and even Korea.

We have grown there in those markets and weare condent of doing the same in India, headded. The company has started bookings of theMini in India and deliveries will start by March,he said.

Auto Expo 2012:BMWs iconic Mini

comes to India


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Auto Expo: Cars, starsand more

New Delhi: UK-based Jaguar Land Rover showcased four new models in India for the rsttime at the the biennial Auto Expo here today. After having showcased the vehicles at sev-eral international events, Land Rover's Defender Concept 100 and Defender Concept 100

Sport and the Jaguar C-X16 and C-X75 can be viewed by auto enthusiasts here in the coming days.General Motors today showcased two latest variants of multi-utility vehicles - Chevrolet TaveraNeo3 and Chevrolet Captiva 2.2. These would be formally launched in the country later this year.


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And the plain unattractive


26/33

Whats worse than the chaos

on our roads?Our Auto Expo!

For all its pretensions to being a world-class show,

the Auto Expo in Delhi is a disaster in terms of

crowd control - and a nightmare for exhibitors and

media professionals.

Pranbihanga Borpuzari, Jan 6, 2012

Going by the sky-high rents that the11th Auto Expo in Delhi commands

which are, on a per-square-metre basis,second only to the Shanghai Auto Show itevidently has pretensions to being a world-classfair.

But going by the utter chaos that prevailed rightfrom the rst hour of the rst day and the colos-sal mismanagement of media accreditation andcrowd control facilities, it was more like a law-less town mela, where just about anything goes.

Intimations of impending disaster were avail-able even on the rst day, when the barcodereader for the passes and badges failed to work

at the gates, leaving attendees queuing up in thecold, wintry Delhi morning. If that seemed likean inauspicious start, things only got progres-sively worse from there on.

On a day when the Expo was open only forbusiness and media, entire families withhigh-decibel, high-maintenance children intow overran the show, swamping the groundsand cramping the mindspace of those who hadprofessional duties to carry out. Private security

guards battled valiantly to control the crowds,but it was a lost cause.

Evidently, tickets for the general public hadbeen sold even on days set aside for the me-dia and business. Ironically, owing to a awedregistration process, the media badges of manygenuine newspersons were never made out,

which meant that they could not gain entry toIndias premier auto expo.

The bizarre sight of 10-year-olds setting off averitable stampede and scrambling to grab thepress kit (and the gifts that accompany them)that were distributed at the various launches


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capped what was an afternoon of utter chaos.The media kits were evidently coveted for thefancy booklets with photographs of the gleam-ing cars.

The pandemonium and the hysteria got a lotworse: by the time Bollywood stars took thestage for the launch at Mercedes, things had be-come utterly unmanageable. Launches by TataMotors, Jaguar and Land Rover all witnessedsurging crowds that came to gawk at the stars

without a modicum of consideration for thosewho had professional responsibilities to carryout. When Katrina Kaif arrived for the Audi Q3launch, it took her a while just to get out of hercar, given the hordes that gathered outside thehall in their hundreds just to get a glimpse ofher.

Ahead of the expo, the various stakeholders from CII to SIAM to ACMA had claimed thatimmaculate preparations had been put in placeand that the fair would be a smooth ride forthe media and exhibitors. But every one of thepromised arrangements fell hopelessly apart.

Worse, confronted with this chaos, the ex-hibitors were left to fend for themselves, in the

absence of any members of the organising com-mittee. We have taken things up with CII andITPO on so many occasions earlier, but at everyexpo its the same old story, says a top ofcialfrom a luxury car maker, speaking on conditionof anonymity. No one is interested and nothingever gets done.

Overseas media, foreign guests and almost allexhibitors, who routinely attend such fairs the

world over and are used to seamless and aw-less efciency, have voiced similar angst aboutthe Delhi Auto Expo. Many of them fret inprivate that organisational efciency has dete-riorated badly from last year, and worry that itcould get progressively worse.

Heres what might help to retrieve the expofrom being an utter disaster. The steering,organising committee and the ITPO shouldenforce stringent crowd management plans.

As for the future, it might help to get the mediaaccreditation process begin six months ahead ofthe expo and ensure that only genuine report-ers from established media houses are allowedto register.

On the days when the fair is open to the gen-eral public, effective crowd control systems areneeded to avert the virtual stampede we rou-tinely witness.

Lastly, it might be good to keep out those whoonly want to get up-close and personal withBollywood stars at such fairs. There is muchprofessional work to be done and business to be

conducted and the whole world is watching.


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Delhi Auto Expo:

A fire hazard?

The Delhi Fire Service has said that the Auto Expo at

Pragati Maidan in New Delhi has not been given a

no objection certicate.


With cars costing a good few lakhsone would think the organisers ofDelhis Auto Expo would invest some

money and thought in providing functional andgood re equipment and facilities that wouldmatch up.

But, alas not.

The Delhi Fire Service has said that the eventhas not given a no objection certicate (NOC)to the organisers of the Delhi Auto Expo 2012,

which is currently on at Pragati Maidan, Delhi.

We did the inspection and found that the re

safety equipment was not functional. Hence, wedenied the NOC, said DFS chief AK Sharma.

The auto expo, touted as one of the biggest autoexhibitions in Asia, kickstarted today and willgo on till December 12.

The rst two days are media days after whichthe expo will be thrown open for the public.

People sitting near a re exit at the Delhi AutoExpo 2012. Naresh Sharma/Firstpost.com

We have put a cap or upper limit of one lakhpeople to visit the expo, daily, said Rajiv Kale,chairman, steering committee, while addressingthe press on Tuesday.


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New Delhi: Music blared and whitesmoke swirled in the cavernous TataMotors hall at the Delhi Auto Expo as

an excited crowd milled near a stage displayingthe companys new hybrid car.

Most, though, were craning their necks to catcha glimpse of the carmakers new gas-guzzlingSafari off-roader being launched on the otherside of the hall. Few seemed to notice the spar-

kling green-technology vehicle behind them.

Billed as an event toshowcase new envi-ronmentally friend-ly vehicles enteringIndias auto market,about a dozen newhybrid, electric or alternative-fuel vehicles fromglobal and domestic carmakers will debut at the

bi-annual expo.

But for all the green glitz, most of these cars,trucks and buses are decades away from grac-ing Indias roads, executives say. Blame a cost-

sensitive market, a lack of on-the-ground sup-port infrastructure, and little or no governmentsupport.

India is very far away from using this sort oftechnology, said Kou Kimura, chief executiveand managing director of Nissan-Renault India.Its expensive, and needs both governmentsupport and the necessary infrastructure to bepossible.

Hybrid cars involvepricey technologythat uses fuel enginesand electric motorsin tandem for greaterefciency. Electric ve-hicles need charging

stations, and would require huge investments toequip a country as large of India.

Frances Peugeot SA unveiled its hybrid 3008car on Thursday, while Volvo Buses showedoff its hybrid bus in India. Mahindra & Mahin-dra launched its range of Reva Electric cars on

For all the green glitz, most of the cars, trucks and

buses on display are decades away from gracing

Indias roads.

Reuters, Jan 6, 2012

Green cars headlineDelhi Auto Expo,

but India not ready


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Friday.

The Volvo hybrid is very much the solutioncities and environmentalists have asked for,

Akash Passey, South Asia managing directorand CEO of Volvo Buses told reporters. We areready. All we await is the demand and the direc-tion from the authorities, so that we can applythis solution specically to Indian needs.

Efciency, not expense

Global hybrid vehicle leader Toyota Motor Corpsold its 3-millionth hybrid car in March 2011.The US and Japanese markets account for theoverwhelming majority of hybrid sales.

India is ready for good fuel efciency. But

hybrid, no, I dont think so, said Andy Palmer,executive vice president of Nissan Motor Co,recognised as a global leader in low-emissiontechnology vehicles.

Its an expensive way of topping up the last 10percent of a fuel engines capability. Hybrid isntthe answer for India, Palmer said.

Wheeling out hybrid or electric vehicles to

banks of ashing photographers and wide-eyedindustry watchers is mainly a demonstrationof a carmakers technological prowess, not anindication of any expectations for sales.

Petrol prices in India have risen by almost 50percent since January 2010, and carmakersin Asias third-largest economy have investedin more efcient vehicles. Many car advertise-ments around the Expo highlighted fuel savings.

Bajaj Auto, a leading Indian motorcycle mak-er, unveiled its rst four-wheeled vehicle onTuesday, in a news conference dominated bystatistics trumpeting its industry-leading fuelefciency.

Tata, alongside its new diesel-hybrid IndigoManza, also launched a hybrid bus, and un-

veiled a version of its ultra-low-cost Nanomodel that runs on compressed natural gas.

CNG was made the mandatory fuel for all publictransport vehicles, including taxis, in Indiascapital city in 2004. The move has been widelypraised and cited as the major reason behind arecent improvement in the citys air quality.

LPG, CNG, these low-emission fuels are muchmore practical options than hybrid or electric

vehicles, which India simply cannot afford,said Arvind Saxena, director of marketing and

sales at the Indian unit of Hyundai Motor Co.


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They rape us

with their eyes:The life of an Auto Expo model

A model working with one of the brands at the Auto Expo

2012 talks to Firstpost about dealing with

lecherous customers, unwanted photographers, and whatshe thinks of the practice of car modeling in general.



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The glitz and glamourof the Delhiauto expo hinges on two things. Thevehicles are a major factor of course.

But so are the models who stand next to them.As much eye candy as information providers,these girls stand next to spotlighted vehicles forhours at a time, hoping to attract large crowdsto their stalls. And if you thought it was allabout standing and smiling, think again. Oneof the auto models at the expo took the timeout to speak to Firstpost on her experiences atthis years auto expo as well as saut expos inyears gone by. She talks about dealing withlecherous customers who have tried to touchher, people who photograph her on the pretextof photographing the vehicle she is standingnext to, and what she thinks of the practice ofcar modeling in general. Her name has been

withheld.

His name was Rahul. He was a 6 feet tall, bald,well built guy. He said he was a senior managerin one of the 5 star hotels in Delhi. I was rep-resenting an auto magazine in the auto expo2008. The pavilion was chock-a- block. He ap-peared sophisticated. He begun with inquiringabout the product I was endorsing. The conver-sation went on for around 10 minutes. As we

were talking he kept coming closer to me.

Thenhe touched my neck.

I tried ignoring it and continued talking to him.He touched me again. That was when I lost it.You dont know how to stand here or what? Isaid. What happened? that b*%# asked me. Igave him the product catalogue and asked himto move or else I would alert the bouncers. That

was the rst time I was worked at the auto expo.

I am from Delhi. I am pursuing my Bachelorsin English from Delhi University. I have beenanchoring at events at various malls and institu-tions in the city for three years now. I have also

worked with an international airline as groundstaff.

My anchoring experiences and that chapterat the expo made me learn my lesson. Now Imaintain a certain distance while talking to

visitors, even if I am not audible to them. Thethumb rule is to talk to them only while keepinga distance where I feel I am safe.

At the current auto expo, I can differentiatebetween a genuine customer and those who arehere just for fun. If somebody is holding hiscamera at a certain angle, I know he is photo-graphing me and not the car. In that case, I turnaround. But at times, it becomes impossibleto escape the shutterbugs. I simply hate beingclicked.

You would think that I feel like a celebrity whenpeople want to be photographed with me. Letme tell you that they just want to befriend me.There is no other reason. I am no actor or a fa-mous personality with whom somebody wouldlike his or her picture to be clicked.

My guess is that around 80 percent people comehere just because some hot chicks are standing

with car A or bike B. Allow me to say that theway they look at us (models) is like they want torape us with their eyes. That, is the look we get.Believe me. It is a disgusting feeling. If this hap-pens outside this fair, I would not think beforepunching the guy in his face.

It is interesting how these companies dependon models like me to promote their products.There is a phrase in Hindi. Jo dikhta hai, woh

bikta hai (what is visible, sells). I enhance the

visibility of the vehicle. The prettier your mod-els, the bigger the crowd you bring to the stall.But in reality it ends there. Nobody will buy thecar or bike because I am standing beside it.

As an individual, I wonder when companieshave such good automobiles, why they needus to sell them. Does it reect a lack of con-dence on the part of the company? Having saidthat, I will be sad if they decide to do away withthe models. It is good money, you see. In fact,money is the only reason I am here.

It is not easy to stand beside vehicles and sporta smile for hours. It becomes tiring at times.Over the years, I have realized that we are ob-sessed with fair girls or gori chamdi. I am fairand I get good amount of assignments.

However, there is immense talent and profes-sionalism in girls who are some shades darker

than me. There are no takers for them. This iswhy a lot of foreigners get opportunities here. Itspeaks volumes about how we dene beauty.


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