Auto Expo organizer speaks about India's bright automotive future

19 January 2008

Amidst din of all the new launches, futuristic concepts and madding crowds, Dilip Chenoy, Director General, SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers), speaks to Sourya Biswas and brings into perspective the Auto Expo's success, the challenges of organization, and what the future holds for the Indian automotive industry.

Can you give us a bit of background on the Auto Expo, and how it all began?
Twenty-two years ago, when there were just about 12 to 12 companies in the automobile sector and a few hundred companies in the components sector, there was a need to position…and to make the general public and others aware, of the capabilities of the automobile industry…and to also generate an interest, and to demonstrate what is the production capability in India, what the automotive industry contributes to the economy.

Therefore we started the very, very small Auto Expo…in two halls. In fact, at that point of time, it was actually a challenge to even fill those halls. And the second one was done after a considerable gap…and it's only after the third Auto Expo that we had a two-year regular interval between successive Auto Expos. So, in many ways, even though this is the ninth Auto Expo it spans over 22 years, and the actual, regular, Auto Expo has been a very recent and new phenomenon.

How has participation improved this time over the previous edition?
This Auto Expo, everything has nearly doubled…we have doubled in terms of space, from 60,000 square metres to 120,000 square metres…we have doubled in terms of number of vehicle manufacturers…we have nearly doubled in terms of number of component suppliers, we have gone from 1,050 odd companies to over 22,000 companies…and, most importantly, for the first time, we have had three global product launches at the Auto Expo.

I am not talking about any new versions of existing cars or any new facelifts…if you look at the total number of launches, it has exceeded 25 and the visitors have really doubled and Pragati Maidan is bursting at the seams.

How do you think an exposition like this helps the industry?
The Auto Expo is a platform for various stakeholders. If you take the automobile industry, it is a platform for them to announce, collectively, the efforts that they are making to meet consumer needs and demands…second, to demonstrate their capabilities in technology…and third, to also showcase some of what they plan to do in the future. For the auto component manufacturers, it is an opportunity to showcase technology, attract potential buyers from overseas, look at sourcing people from India.