Bollywood actors Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Anil Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi visited Auto Expo 2010 on the opening two days at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
Global automobile giants like Toyota, Honda, Suzuki and General Motors are all here but most of them are unveiling their small and concept cars, high on fuel efficiency.
Honda and Toyota launched their concept small cars with an eye on growing Indian market. They also want to use India as their global manufacturing hub, mostly for small cars.
Toyota revealed its latest small car Etios in India on Tuesday. This was one of the unprecedented 10 global launches on Tuesday out of the 50 unveilings expected at the Delhi Auto Expo. Etios is expected to be priced under Rs 5 lakhs.
Auto Expo is the Complete Automotive Show in this part of the world, organized jointly by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
The first Auto Expo was held in 1986, the second in 1993, and the third in 1996. Since then, Auto Expo has been institutionalized as a biennial show.
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan unveiled the electric version of Hyundai's i10 on the second day at the Delhi Auto Expo 2010.
Sonam Kapoor And John Abraham Braved In The Delhi Chill To Promote The Luxury Car Audi At The Ongoing Auto Expo
Actor Vivek Oberoi also visited to announcement of designer Nano, which will cost around Rs one crore
Maruti unveils 'rIII'
Maruti unveiled a small multi-purpose concept vehicle (MPV) 'rIII' as it looks to create a new segment.
Maruti Suzuki Chief Executive Officer Shinzo Nakanishi, second left, poses with officials at the unveiling of the Maruti Suzuki rIII.
Toyota showcases small car 'Etios'
The world's largest carmaker, Toyota, on Tuesday unveiled concept small car, Etios, which has been specifically developed for the Indian market. The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with Kirloskar Group, is investing about Rs 3,200 crore to set up its second manufacturing facility in Bangalore to roll out the car by early 2011.
The company would launch both hatchback and sedan under the Etios series with 1.2 litres and 1.5 litres petrol engines respectively.
Toyota also launched the CNG version of its luxury sedan 'Corolla Altis'.
Tata Motors showcases 'Aria'
Tata Motors on Tuesday previewed 'Aria', a cross-over between a multi-utility and sports utility vehicle, at the Auto Expo here and billed it as a four-wheeler built for Indians by Indian engineers. The company, however, did not say when it plans to commercially launch Aria.
Tata Motors' current line up of SUVs and MUVs include Safari and Sumo Grande.
“Apart from Aria, there will be products from Jaguar, series of buses and a new world truck, new alternate fuel vehicles and electric vehicles," Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata said at the Auto Expo.
Skoda Showcases Yeti
Skoda Auto Member of the Board Reinhard Fleger, left, and Skoda Auto India Member of the Board Thomas Kuehl unveil the newly launched SUV Yeti at the 10th Auto Expo.
Volkswagen introduces Polo
German auto major Volkswagen on Tuesday introduced its small car Polo.
The Polo would be available in both petrol and diesel variants. The exact pricing would be announced once the car reaches dealers in March.
The company intends to roll out a sedan on the Polo platform in the second half of 2010. However, before that racing version of the Polo would be rolled out in June.
Honda Showcases CR-Z
Japanese auto giant Honda said its small car, to be launched in the country by 2011, would be priced below Rs 5 lakh.
As part of this, the company showcased the concept of its sporty hybrid car 'CR-Z' at the Expo.
