Mega India Expo
Gaby Zenz
The 3rd Smart Cities India 2017 Expo attracted over 15 thousand participants over four days, including the presence of 150 mayors and city managers from India and abroad. There were 54 interactive workshops and sessions where 350 speakers and subject experts provided insights about various subjects, among which the highlights were climate change adaptation and the importance of governance and technology for cities around the world. The event also displayed about 400 exhibition stands, mostly offering transport and sustainability mobility solutions from enterprises worldwide to Indian cities.
In addition, this occasion in India was unique to promote the XII Metropolis World Congress, which takes place about a month after the 3rd Smart Cities India 2017 Expo. Sunil Dubey and Agns Bickart, institutional relations & Asia portfolio manager at the Metropolis Secretariat General, attended the expo also to encourage the present Indian metropolises, institutional partners and private companies, as well as of the organisers of the mega event, to come to Montral and confirm their participation in our major triennial event from June 19 to 22.
Last but not least, the event in New Delhi provided an opportunity for Ms Bickart to hold bilateral meetings with various Metropolis members from Asia, as well as other non-member cities, public and private institutions from this region and abroad. One of the most fruitful of these meetings was the one held with, Dr Sameer Sharma, Additional Secretary and Director of the Smart Cities Mission, who welcomed the Metropolis delegation to the offices of the Indian Ministry of Urban Development and ensured full support to Metropolis in India, committing to bring between ten and twelve new metropolises in the country to join our association.
Since then, the Metropolis members in India and international partners have been engaged in promoting the objectives of urban innovation and smart cities. India. Professor Jagan Shah, the Director of NIUA, has been advising the government of India, city governments and various public sector organisations in establishing the important link of social innovation, safety and technology with smart city design principles.
Various related shows such as Auto Expo will be held under the umbrella of Bharat Mobility Global Expo while retaining its brand and characteristics, said Amardeep Singh Bhatia, additional secretary in the ministry of commerce and industry.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal had earlier explained that the mega show was aimed at making India a global hub for the entire mobility value chain with a target to export half of the total output. Goyal lauded industry bodies and automobile associations for their initiative in successfully organising the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2024 - the largest event ever held in India.
In consultation with the automotive industry it has been decided to scale up the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025 and organise the expo at three venues: Bharatmandapam; Yashobhoomi (India International Convention and Expo Center) Dwarka, and India Expo Center & Mart, Greater Noida, simultaneously from January 17 to January 22 last year, Bhatia said.
NEW DELHI : The winter chill was yet to set in but the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in the heart of Delhi, played host to an unusual event in the second weekend of December. It raised temperatures by a few notches.
It is a mega event that is focused not on products but on better engagement with our customers. The response has been such that we wish to make it an annual gig," said Vikram Pawah, president and CEO, BMW Group India. It is purely a ticketed event. Then, within the event, there are zones for our existing or prospective customers."
We make the decision (to participate or not) on a case-by-case basis. With our own events like Joytown, there was no added benefit for us to be at the expo this year," Pawah said. It is not because of money but the qualitative aspect of it. It is about being focused and not mass reach for us."
Players in the passenger vehicle industry have routinely given the expo a miss but a big shocker this year was desi favorite Mahindra and Mahindra joining the likes of the entire Volkswagen group (VW, Skoda and Audi), Honda, Renault-Nissan and Stellantis (Jeep and Citroen), in watching the show from the sidelines.
What explains the growing non interest from the industry? The absentee parties complain of high cost and of not getting enough bang for their buck. Like BMW, most of them are curating events of their own, focused on their target audience.
The money an automaker spends in the auto expo could be used in a nation-wide consumer connect programme, which might give better dividends in the long run. At a time when the market has yet to recover to 2018 levels, participating in the show could be deemed as an unnecessary expenditure," said Avik Chattopadhyay, co-founder, Expereal, a brand strategy consultancy firm.
The main deliverables are to get coverage and quality crowds. The change in location and lacklustre show has resulted in growing disinterest. It is failing to deliver the audience and when it fails to deliver the return on investment (ROI), the appeal drops," said Ravi Bhatia, president, JATO Dynamics India, an automotive market research company.
The continued absence of luxury carmakers, by far the biggest draw in any exhibition, is an ominous sign. Market leader Mercedes Benz contemplated pulling out in 2020 before deciding to stay put. This time, it opted out.
There is a divergence in the profile of buyers (for mass and luxury cars) and mixing them hurts the brands that target ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Clearly, they are finding that a targeted event delivers better ROI," said Bhatia of JATO.
Companies take the call on a variety of factors. Some may have organized events of their own during the year; others may not have an exciting line-up to showcase at this time. And then, a few may have been discouraged by their headquarters. They are all our members and this is their show," he reasoned.
In the past, too, there were companies that skipped editions only to return in the following years. This year, Ashok Leyland and Toyota have made a comeback. We will do whatever it takes to get the others back in future," he assured journalists.
Global technology giants like Google, Apple, IBM, Microsoft and Amazon have, over the years, increased their presence in the automotive industry. This has seen connected and autonomous technologies take up larger space at the CES.
The expo needs to fall in line with global shows such as the CES, which has a heavy dose of technology along with vehicles. Otherwise, things may get difficult," warned Unsoo Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd.
Second, a shift in venue may work. The current venue, in Greater Noida, is nearly 40 km away from Delhi. Industry watchers said the choice of venue is directly linked to the quality of visitors the show will attract, going ahead. Anecdotal evidence suggests not enough prospective buyers are queuing up for the show any longer. It is one of the main reasons why luxury carmakers, for example, see no merit in participating in the show today.
We can consider Dwarka (a 221-acre convention and expo centre is under construction), too, if it is ready and meets our requirements by 2025. I am open to incorporating any number of changes to not just keep the expo relevant but make it bigger than ever before."
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