With the slackening of demand in the auto sector over the past two quarters, the exceptionally high level of response in terms of visitors levels perhaps is the first sign that good days lie ahead for the Indian auto industry.
"Just as the Kumbh Mela is the King of all melas in the Country, the Auto Expo is the king of all Trade shows in India. Being the king of all shows it is quite natural to have huge crowds. The challenge is to manage the high visitor levels keeping in mind the infrastructural constraints that the trade fair grounds has. In this direction, based on our previous years experiences we have already taken substantial actions", said Mr. Rajive Kaul, Chairman of the steering committee, Auto Expo.
Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General of Confederation of Indian Industries said, "The visitors level have been restricted to only 70,000 per day as 30,000 people are already manning the exhibitors halls and facilities at the show. We have also reduced the number of exhibitors from 2,100 in 2010 down to 1,500 this year. Consequently the area covered by exhibitors has been reduced from 1,25,000 sq.
metres to 1,15,000 sq. metres. This in turn allows for more space for visitor movement around the show."
Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal, Joint Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp said, "Wow! What a response. Even though visitors may be inconvenienced, in a slowing economy such keen interest and enthusiasm by visitors augurs well for the economy. I do hope that this will reflect in industry sales and growth of the Indian Automotive industry".
Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman & CEO, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited said, "The crowds represent very high aspirational level of the people of India and it also truly reflects the demographics of the country with lots of young people. At the same time, it does give a serious pointer that in the currently available infrastructure the show has outgrown its size".
To ease the traffic congestion outside Pragati Maidan, in conjunction and consultation with excellent suggestion made by the Delhi police, sale of tickets has been instituted at 26 metro stations to enable visitors to buy tickets and come directly on the metro to the dedicated Pragati Maidan metro station which adjoins Gate no. 10.
Furthermore to reduce queues at the ticketing counters, for the first time 30,000 tickets are being sold via internet sales. More than half of these have already been sold, distributed evenly over exhibition days.
A park and ride facility has been arranged from three key locations in the vicinity of Pragati Maidan in consultation with Delhi Traffic Police and ITPO to reduce traffic snarls.
"The Auto Component display at the Auto Expo 2012 has come of age, 10 years ago the display had small booths but today, the stalls are at par with international standards" said Mr Arvind Kapur, President ACMA. Mr Kapur was delighted about the positive feedback received from the various international delegations visiting the show and expressing their interest in enhancing business association with the Indian auto component industry. "The delegations from Canada, Russia, Sweden, Australia, and many others, had successful meetings and interactions with the Indian component manufacturers", he added.
Mr. S Sandilya, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said, "Overall, the Auto Expo has come up very well with tremendous participation from Exhibitors as well as a large number of visitors who are thronging to see the Show. Except for some logistics issues relating to crowds and traffic jams which are not necessarily due to the Show only, we look forward to a very exciting next 4 days at the Auto Expo".
The 11th Auto Expo 2012, jointly organized by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), is scheduled from 5-11 January 2012 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India.
This edition of the event is focussing on the theme – "Mobility for All" with special emphasis on the safety and need of environment friendly fuels/vehicles, technological advancements, and innovative designs.