SIAM, Volkswagen India drop press conferences due to coronavirus

With government advisory to prevent large gatherings in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, auto industry body SIAM and German car maker Volkswagen have cancelled their planned press conferences.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which usually holds press conference for its monthly sales data release, said it will not hold such conference this time.

The auto industry body is slated to release sales data for February on Friday.

"Keeping in mind the current situation and the need to take precautions due to the ongoing coronavirus threat, SIAM is not organising formal meetings. With this background, SIAM will not be convening a formal press conference on data release this month, as has been the practice," it said.

The sales data will instead be e-mailed, SIAM said.

Similarly, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, which had planned to hold a press conference here to launch its SUV T-Roc, has decided to go digital for the same.

"In view of the COVID-19 outbreak and advisories by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the World Health Organisation to avoid large gatherings, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India has decided to launch the Volkswagen T-Roc, our second SUV for 2020, through our digital platforms on Wednesday, March 18, 2020," the company said in a statement.

The company further said, "We have consulted all the stakeholder groups and have taken this decision as a precautionary measure to ensure safety of our employees, partners, vendors, media colleagues and patrons."