The Auto Expo 2018, which came to an end on Wednesday, saw a marginal rise in footfall than the last edition in 2016.
Over 6.05 lakh people visited the six-day event compared with around 6.02 lakh people in the 2016 expo.
“Auto Expo – The Motor Show 2018 is yet another milestone as a grand exposition that has built a brand image for itself over the years. It is the biggest platform for the Indian automobile industry to showcase its journey towards the future of ‘Mobility in India’, with competitive and world class products, technology and futuristic concept,” Vishnu Mathur, Director-General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), said.
There were over 500 product displays by 119 exhibitors. This included 53 Original Vehicle Manufacturers who showcased over 100 products, including 22 launches, 81 product unveiling and 18 concepts, he said. The show, which was all about ‘future of mobility’, showcased 25 electric vehicles and a total of 11 start-ups.
“The extension of the Auto Expo by one day (last time it was of five days) has been welcomed by visitors and manufacturers alike. It helped us manage the crowd efficiently, use the infrastructure optimally with no bottlenecks on roads and parking,” Sugato Sen, Deputy Director General, SIAM, said. With the advent of the social media and more people active on them, the Auto Expo witnessed more than 1.5 lakh tweets on its official hashtag which further garnered over 4.5 billion impressions on Twitter in a span of six days, the auto industry body said.
And, much like the previous editions, this year also saw participation of legendary sports personalities and actors such as Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Gautam Gambhir, Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha.
However, this year’s expo did not have participation from some of the major companies like Ford India, Harley Davidson, Bajaj Auto and the whole Volkswagen Group.