Addressing the valedictory session of New Delhi Auto Expo 2011, Minister of Urban Development, Kamal Nath offered his heartiest congratulation to ACNA, CII and SIAM for organising the auto event successfully. According to him, since 2006, there has been constant increase in youth visitors. Nath said that economic condition of the country can be clearly understood by analysing the automobile sector.
Nobody can comment that the Indian automobile industry is going through tough times by looking at the success of Auto Expo 2011. India has been constantly facing global challenges and adapting to new situations. With its youthful demographic profile, the country has been considered as unique in some respect. He further said that the growth of the automobile sector depends on the increasing disposable income in the rural areas.
The Government of India is facing a great challenge in the form of increasing urbanisation and to solve this issue, a strong urban planning process is required. Kamal Nath has already informed the government of various cities with greater than 2 million population to prepare DPRs for Metro rail. Keeping in mind the future surge in traffic, his ministry is on the process of developing planned satellite cities (suburbanisation). By 2050, India will have 382 million cars out of which 32% will be in just 12 cities.
This Expo was a success, according to the Chairman of Auto Expo 2012 Steering Committee, Rajive Kaul, who was also the former President & Chairman – Trade Fairs, CII. According to him, 1500 exhibitors belonging to 24 countries participated in the 11th Auto Expo. 58 new launches, 12 green vehicles and 9 new concepts were the highlights of the expo. Although high interest rate, high inflation and depressed global economy have adversely affected Indian auto industry, the Auto Expo proved successful against all odds. He said that every company participating in this expo has displayed its capabilities regarding design, technology and R&D.
Indian automobile industry can now match with the global standards, according to Kaul. He further said that over the past 5 years, Indian auto industry has been registering compound annual growth rate of 15%, which should be maintained in the future.
According to S. Sandilya, President, SIAM, new launches were displayed at the Auto Expo and direct connection was established between the car makers and the customers. To meet people’s expectation, he put forward the proposal of a bigger venue and changing the dates of the expo from January to early February.
According to Arvind Kapur, President, ACMA, this Auto Expo has been a success, despite all odds and infrastructure challenges. He also confirmed the role of OEMs in the growth of Indian auto sector. The auto industry is looking forward to many such exhibitions in the future and is ready to compete with the best in the world. However, a bigger venue is required according to him to display the achievements of Indian auto industry.
