Toyota, Ford to give 2008 Auto Expo a miss

The Delhi Auto Show will see the country’s top car manufacturers lining up a slew of concept cars and a handful of new models.

Though top car companies such as Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India, Fiat India, Volvo Cars, Honda Siel Cars India, Volkswagen and Skoda will vie for attention, the absence of a couple of big players will be noted.

As the week-long extravaganza unfurls in a few days from now on space close to 1,25,000 square metres at Pragati Maidan in delhi, Ford and Toyota Kirloskar Motors would prefer to stay out. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is organizing the show. Around 41 vehicle manufacturers and over 1,900 auto component and accessory manufacturers are participating in the show.

While Toyota has explained away its non-participation by saying that it currently has no model to display at the expo, it isn’t known why Ford has decided to keep out. Toyota’s reasoning seems agreeable as it has already said that its product launch plans and the auto expo do not coincide. Toyota had last participated in the expo in 2002.

Talking of the big ones who are waiting for the show to begin, the event will have Tata Motors’ people’s car as the star attraction. The company would make the most of its new car at the event, before the commercial launch planned for a later date. The Tatas would also put on show a range of new passenger vehicles, while Fiat will showcase passenger cars from its international range. The Tatas plan to bring in the buses made in a joint venture with Marco Polo of Brazil. Multi-axle heavy trucks, pickup vehicles, applications of panel vans, and new mini trucks will also be part of the Tata package.

The much sought after concepts are going to be Maruti Suzuki’s concept A-Star and the Splash. Meanwhile, Honda Japan will showcase the Jazz Concept, which could be the prototype of Honda's first small car in India. This car is called the Fit in some markets.