EVs take centre stage this year

Greater Noida: Auto Expo 2023 - The Motor Show, taking place from January 11 to 18 at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, is a highly anticipated event showcasing some of the topmost vehicles from leading automotive brands in India. The 16th edition of the biennial fest for petrolheads will be open to the general public from Friday onwards from 11 am to 7 pm.

Moving forward with the ‘Go Green’ initiative, the main focus of the expo is on electric vehicles. A total of 70+ manufacturers, including over 30 pure EV manufacturers, launched and unveiled their vehicles during the two-day media preview, i.e., January 11 and 12.

The event witnessed Tata Motors bringing back its veteran Sierra Concept, along with its modern marvel Harrier in the all-wheel drive variant in its EV avatar. Tata Altroz is equipped with a more powerful engine in its Racer edition, in addition to a CNG variant. The Curvv Concept ICE version, based on the Gen2 platform of Tata, also captured eyeballs at the event.

The 16th Edition Auto Expo – The Motor Show 2023, was officially inaugurated on Thursday by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Government of India and Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister for Heavy Industries, Government of India.

On the other hand, MG Motors has launched its Next-Gen Hector, priced at Rs. 14.72 lakhs (ex-showroom), and Hector Plus. It has also taken covers off a new hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, Euniq 7 MPV, besides the MG4 EV hatchback and eHS PHEV SUV. BYD, a new entrant in the Indian automotive sector, unveiled its luxury electric sedan BYD Seal, which is expected to be available for sale by the end of 2023.

Maruti Suzuki is also making headlines with the launch of its SUVs, the 5-door Jimny and Fronx (Baleno-based platform), adding to its SUV lineup consisting of Brezza and Grand Vitara.

The company has also opened bookings for the newly launched Jimny and Fronx at their NEXA dealerships. Another highlight at the Maruti Suzuki arena was their Concept Electric SUV eVX.

Another marquee car manufacturer in India, Toyota, welcomed the visitors with its new generation Land Cruiser (LC300), alongside a red-colored Hilux Concept kitted out with specialist off-roading modifications.

While Hyundai unveiled its all-electric SUV, Ioniq 5 (priced at Rs 44.95 lakhs), Kia Motors came up with the SUV Concept, Kia Concept EV9, along with its fourth-gen Carnival (KA4).

Apart from the boom in EVs in cars, two-wheelers, and even the three-wheeler market, commercial sector led by Ashok Leyland, JBM Auto, and VE Commercial Vehicles (a Volvo-Eicher joint venture) showcased various advanced mobility solutions, including Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) technology.