Pawan Goenka put the message across loud and clear. “It is about showcasing India,” the Executive Director and President of Mahindra & Mahindra said here on Monday, explaining why a new venue for the biennial Delhi Auto Expo was inevitable.
Over the last two decades, the event has been held at Pragati Maidan whose biggest advantage is its location in the heart of the capital. In contrast, the 2014 Auto Expo will be held in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh), 40 kilometres away.
It is this change in location that has the organisers worried and the press meet was intended to convey the message that this venue is easily accessible. There was really no way out but to move out of Pragati Maidan, Goenka said, as its infrastructure was in poor shape and could not handle such a large event.
In fact, this became a sore point in 2012 when visitors were clearly appalled by the sights of filthy restrooms, chaotic food stalls and an unruly crowd which just seemed to be growing by the minute. The three industry bodies -- CII, SIAM and ACMA -- had had enough and decided to relocate the event to Greater Noida.
“It is a sleek location and will be a top-class international show,” Vikram Kirloskar, President of SIAM (and Vice-Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor) said. A lot of hard work has gone into creating halls, food stalls, restrooms and generous parking space across the 58-acre venue, added Sugato Sen, SIAM’s Deputy Director-General.
Quite unlike the past, tickets for the 2014 Auto Expo will now involve a tighter screening process and be available across select Barista outlets and Metro Stations in Delhi. The organisers reiterated that they do not want an encore of the horror stories in 2012 when visitors had a hard time navigating through Pragati Maidan.
It will also be for the first time that the vehicle and component makers will not come together for the Expo. Vishnu Mathur, Director-General of SIAM, said every effort had been made to make this possible but there was just not enough space at Greater Noida.
As a result, Pragati Maidan will host the component manufacturers though access to the new venue will be guaranteed with buses operating frequently. And while this split in venue could be seen as a downside, the crowds for cars and bikes are quite different from those visiting component stalls. To that extent, the organisers believe that footfalls will not be impacted.
There is also no guarantee if Greater Noida will be the permanent venue for future Auto Expos. As Mathur reiterated, the vehicle and component makers will have to be housed in one place as 2014 is an exception to this rule. Two, if Pragati Maidan is given its overdue facelift and made to look as good as new, there is no reason why it cannot play host all over again in the near future.
The 2014 Auto Expo will be quite unique from previous showings. It is for the first time that it is being held in February (and not January as is the practice all these years), to ensure that it does not clash with other international auto shows. The weather in Delhi would also not be as cold with the added problems of fog throwing flight schedules out of gear.
The Auto Expo is also happening at a time when the country is in election mode and the international business community will be monitoring these events with great interest. To them, India is an important investment point but the last couple of years have seen poor economic growth and all visible signs that the script has gone completely awry.