Auto Expo 2012: BMW Mini and Enfield steal the show

New Delhi: The week long 11th Auto Expo, which began in New Delhi on Thursday has seen the launch of some of the most awaited cars and motorcycles in India. Maruti Suzuki announced its entry into the SUV market, BMW launched its iconic ‘mini’ series in India and Harley Davidson introduced two brand new bikes that created a huge buzz of excitement.

The first big launch of the Day was Maruti Suzuki India’s entrant in to the SUV market; the ‘XA Alpha’ concept SUV. The compact SUV, based on the concept of wrestling, targets the young urban consumer. “XA Alpha combines ruggedness and muscle — the traditional attributes of a SUV- with elegance, a certain finesse and compactness,” said Shinzo Nakanishi, MD and CEO of Maruti Suzuki.

Harley Davidson and Royal Enfield had every social media platform buzzing in the country with their respective launches. The ThunderBird 500 launched by Royal Enfield, together with Harley Davidson’s FXDB Street Bob and FXDS Super Glide Custom got a huge response from the public and media. The FXDB Street Bob will cost Rs 9. 95 lakh, while the FXDC Super Glide Custom has been priced at Rs 11.5 lakh. Both Harley bikes were previously available as completely built-up imports. They will now be assembled at the company’s facility in Bawana. Royal Enfield did not did not disclose the price of their new model. But it did announce that it would be available in ‘magic black’, ‘mat finish’ and ‘jet black’.

However the real highlight of the day was the India launch of BMW’s iconic Mini brand which will cost up to Rs 31.99 lakh. Watch video

Auto Expo Day 1 also had a strong Bollywood presence with superstar Amitabh Bachchan present at the launch of DC Design’s Avanti sports car, which is priced at Rs 30 lakh ex-showroom. But the biggest cheer was reserved for Katrina Kaif at the unveiling of Audi’s Q3 SUV. India Yamaha Motor and Nissan Motors India also had their respective brand ambassadors John Abraham and Ranbir Kapoor unveil new products during the day, while Farhan Akhtar and Irfan Khan were the main attractions at Mercedes Benz’s unveiling of its A-Class concept car.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India announced a Rs 1,000 crore investment for capacity expansion in the next 3-4 years, while Mahindra & Mahindra said it is investing Rs 800 crore over the next 3-4 years to develop a joint platform for two products, along with Korean subsidiary SsangYong Motor.

On a day where there was more showcasing of concepts than the launch of production models, the country’s second-largest car-maker Hyundai used the opportunity for the global premiere of a new concept multi-purpose vehicle ‘Hexa Space’, which it intends to launch in the next three to four years, and also showcased a new version of the Sonata, to be launched in India by February-end. This was be the company’s first Multi Purpose Vehicle in India. This is a concept car based on the design of a ‘hexagon’, a geometrical figure. “The vehicle features eight slim, hexagonally shaped seats that fit together like puzzle pieces, maximising vehicle width,” said Hyundai.

Tata Motors displayed four concept cars equipped with alternate fuel technology under the brands Tata Nano CNG, Indigo Manza diesel-electric hybrid, Tata Starbus Fuel Cell and Tata Indica Magic Iris CNG, Ford Motor displayed its compact EcoSport SUV in India for the first time.

With inputs from PTI