Major players stay off auto show

Mumbai, Dec 7: Major auto players such as Maruti, Tata Engineering, Fiat, Daewoo, Mahindra & Mahindra and a host of others were conspi...

Mumbai, Dec 7: Major auto players such as Maruti, Tata Engineering, Fiat, Daewoo, Mahindra & Mahindra and a host of others were conspicuous by their absence at the much-hyped Mumbai Auto Show 2000 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association and SIAM. In fact, the show turned out to be a damp squib, but for the Korean auto giant Hyundai displaying its high-end car XG, Sonata and the sports utility vehicle, Turbulence.

In the two-wheeler segment, Bajaj, Kinetic Engineering and TVS-Suzuki had put up the existing and new products at the well-decorated makeshift showrooms at the show. Although Mahindra Auto Specialities had displayed its customised vehicles, the offerings from M&M in the utility vehicles segment were missing.

Interestingly, the rest of the stalls were occupied by the promoters of batteries, audio systems, car seats and automotive components at the Auto Show.

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Most of the visitors this correspondent met expressed shock over the absence of major players at the Auto Show and on top of it, the Indica from Tata house. They also expressed disappointment over the entry fee of Rs 30, as well as the venue of the show which is at the far-end of Mumbai. Most of the visitors also said that the show was not organised at the proper time, especially when most of the foreign auto players are busy in the closure of the calendar year.

Interestingly, the representatives of two-wheeler companies had a busy day, as the visitors were making a point to stop at their stalls and take a feel of the new offerings.

CII director Zubin Kabraji admitted that leading auto players were absent. He said that although Maruti, Telco and Daewoo had initially shown interest and picked up the registration forms, they were later withdrawn.

As far as Daewoo is concerned, the company had met with the customs duty problem in importing new models from Korea, he said, and added that the show was planned just three months ago. "Still, we feel that there will be around 2,000 business visitors, who will visit the show and they will have fruitful transactions," Kabraji said.

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According to Kabraji, nearly Rs 50 lakh was spent on the creation of suitable air-conditioned infrastructure to organise such an event and another Rs 30 lakh spent on publicity and marketing. He strongly justified the imposition of the entry fee of Rs 30 and said that this was done keeping in mind the education and business aspects of such auto shows.

"Our objective is to give a boost to the sale of operators and maintain the quality of visitors at the show," Kabraji said.

He said that there was no compromise on the rates for exhibitors. For air-conditioned fully-furnished built-up space, it had charged Rs 55,000 per sq mt, for air-conditioned indoor bare space – Rs 5,000 per sq mt, outdoor bare space – Rs 3,600 per sq mt and electricity deposit – 10 per cent of space rental.