Bajaj Auto To Quit Auto Expo 2002

Two-wheeler giant Bajaj Auto has decided to pull out of the prestigious Auto Expo 2002 which is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in January next year.

Bajaj has cited various reasons which include lack of new launches during that period and the tough economic situation because of the economic slow down. A senior Bajaj executive declined to comment on the issue.

But CII executives in the Auto Expo secretariat, while not denying that Bajaj had expressed intention to pull out, said attempts were being made to woo them back to the fold.

A senior executive said: "We are confident that Bajaj will come back and our chairman of the trade fair Subodh Bhargava is in touch with Bajaj chairman Rahul Bajaj regarding this matter."

Bajaj had earlier confirmed its participation and had booked 1,100 square metre in the expo. Even Maruti Udyog, which was reluctant to participate in the fair, has now agreed to come back according to sources in the CII Auto Expo secretariat. The company will organise a special carnival during the show apart from taking space.

The CII has already sold more than 94 per cent of the total space in the exhibition which would cover an area of 65,000 square meter. As many as 965 companies have confirmed their participation in the exhibition which include a who's who of the Indian auto sector.

These include Tata Engineering, which has booked 2,500 square metre, followed by Toyota with 2,300 square metre, Ashok Leyland with 1,500 square metre, Hero Honda and Mahindra and Mahindra with 1,350 square metre each. Others are BMW, Eicher , Hyundai, LML, Skoda, TVS and Yamaha. The firms participating for the first time include Honda Motorcycles, Asta Motorcycles from China, Iveco in engines, Saint Gobin in auto safety glass amongst others.

The total space taken in the 2002 Auto Expo remains the same as in 2000. Even the rentals have been increased only marginally in order to attract more players. However, the area occupied by vehicle manufacturers have been reduced marginally.