Running Out Of Gas

This one’s a front-runner for the stunt-of-the-year award. A couple of days before the 5th Auto Expo opened in Delhi on January 12, automobile correspondents of various newspapers and magazines were flooded with press conference invitations. With an average of four meets a day, hacks were having difficulty fitting them all in, and were more than happy to give the smaller companies a miss. One of the invitations, though, stood out. "Forty-one crore satisfied customers. Here’s your chance to be the 41-crore-and-oneth. You are invited to a media briefing of the India launch of the world’s largest selling small car at Hall No. 14 at the Expo," the invitation read. No names were mentioned.

So, who was the invitation from? Which is the world’s largest-selling small car that has sold 41 crore units? Is it the Fiat Punto, the Wagon R, or the Volkswagen Beetle? Won’t the entry of the world’s best selling small car alter the dynamics of the Indian auto industry? The media speculated endlessly. But didn’t have any answers. So to find out, they squeezed this press conference in between those of Bajaj and Telco.

And what did Stall No. 12, tucked away in one tiny corner of Hall No. 14, hold? It was of Mattel Toys, manufacturers of toy cars. As its vice-president preened in front of the large media contingent he’d managed to con, the journalists knew they’d been had. To an extent, that’s probably the story of this Auto Expo. The largest ever, the second largest in Asia after the Tokyo Motor Show and spread across 65,000 square metres. With all 18 halls of the capital’s sprawling Pragati Maidan complex taken by 1,500 vehicle and component manufacturers from 20 countries, the auto show that is expected to have over a million visitors, probably can’t get bigger. With virtually every big manufacturer making its presence felt - save Honda and Hindustan Motors - expectations were obviously high.

Probably too high. For, unlike last time, when there were a lot of new cars - courtesy the unveiling of the Indica, Santro and Matiz - there wasn’t much new on offer this year. Rather, most manufacturers chose the show to offer new variants of existing models, launch niche products, or to unveil prototypes. And Toyota Qualis was the only big draw. Take Ford and Fiat, for instance. Ford’s recent offering, the 1.6-ltr Ikon, is on the roads. So, it utilised the Expo to launch its 1.3-ltr variant. "The aim behind launching the new model is to push volumes in the mid-sized segment," says V. Sivaramakrishnan, general manager, marketing and product planning at Ford India. The 1.3-ltr Ikon apart, Ford launched two variants of the 1.6-ltr Ikon - Rally Sport and Ultimate Josh. While the Rally Sport might give Ford volumes, both cars are expected to perform more of a branding function.

Fiat did likewise. It launched a cheaper version of the Siena and introduced the Siena station wagon. It will introduce cng-driven engines on all its models by this summer. And General Motors, which unveiled Opel Corsa last November, announced its price at the show. Maruti didn’t even do that. It had planned to unveil the Wagon R at the Expo but ended up doing so in the last week of December when Suzuki chairman O. Suzuki visited India. And with states now in the midst of altering sales tax rates, Maruti decided to defer the pricing of Wagon R.

It made some price announcements for the capital, though. Since the apex court has mandated that all cars sold in Delhi be Euro II-compliant by April 2000, Maruti has upgraded models and changed engines. It has introduced Euro II-compliant 800s and Omnis, with a multi-point fuel injection system that has given this basic car a five-speed gearbox. All for Rs 20,000 more. Maruti has shown faith in its Zen and hiked prices by Rs 10,000. But for the Esteem, it cut prices by Rs 25,000 for the LX, Rs 46,000 for the VX Euro I version, and Rs 65,500 for the automatic transmission model. This, after adding an extra 20 bhp to the car. Consider this to be the harbinger of things to come for Maruti’s nationwide pricing.

And while the Telco stall had hogged the limelight last time - it was again the largest stall with 5,000 square metres - it wasn’t as crowded as on the last occasion. Tata Engineering, as the Tatas want the company to be known now, did lift the veil on what to expect from it in the future by showing off two concept cars - the Magna, a two-ltr luxury Sedan, and the Aria, a two-seater sports car on the Indica platform. "We expect to launch the Magna a year from now. It will be larger in size than the current mid-sized cars, and close to the Mercedes E-class in refinement, features and smoothness of torque," said Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Sons. The Aria, though, is still a concept car.

Mercedes unveiled two E-class models, the 220 diesel and 240 petrol, both launched just six months ago in Europe. They’ll hit the roads some months later. "We’ll launch them in the second quarter of 2000," said Jurgen Ziegler, ceo, Mercedes Benz India.

So, the only big news was the Toyota Qualis, the company’s first offering in India. This diesel-driven multi-purpose unit comes in eight and 10-seater options, and you have either two, one or no air-conditioner. The price in Delhi varies from Rs 4,59,000 to Rs 7,40,000 across six variants. Expect a hike when the try campaign ends. Says K.K. Swamy, deputy managing-director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor: "We entered late. So while pricing our car, we looked at the pricing of passenger cars. We’ll see what the customer response is, and then re-look at our pricing." Toyota, with Qualis, has put every manufacturer in a tizzy. Each one of them insists the Qualis targets the Tata Sumo buyer, though Toyota claims it’s a family car. The verdict will probably be out in six months. If Ikon, Esteem and Siena sales dip, Toyota will be proved right.

Excitement at the Expo, though, was provided more by the lasses manning the stalls. And expectations weren’t belied here.