Auto Expo 2010: 10 auto cos lined for global launches

Auto Expo 2010 kicks off on January 5 in Delhi, reports CNBC-TV18's Swati Khandelwal Jain.

Before the auto expo kicks off officially on January 5, we have whole slew of launches lined up on January 4. We will see Mercedes showcasing its superlative vehicles, we will also see General Motors launching its second small or mini car called The Beat. This car is likely to be priced around Rs 3 lakh and will also sport a diesel engine option eventually. This car is expected to give out a fuel efficiency figure of about 18.6 Kmpl, the company claims its going to be the best in its class. The company also says there might be a diesel version of the Beat that might be launched by the end of this year but for now the Beat is powered by a 1.2 Litre petrol engine only.

We also had Mahindra & Mahindra launching its new series range of trucks with its joint venture partner Navistar. So a lot of launches to be seen on January 4 and then on January 5 the Auto Expo will kick off and we will have whole host of automakers showcasing or giving their global launches. In fact 10 of them are definitely lined up this time around.

Mercedes launched its two luxury offerings, the mighty GL Class SUV and the S Class luxury saloon, priced at Rs 65 lakh and Rs 85 lakh respectively.

Ashok Leyland Managing Director R Seshasayee sees strong demand for the sector as the New Year kicks off. "The first three months are beginning to grow pretty well. The demand seems to be robust there will certainly be pre-buying as a result of these emissions that changed standards coming in April 2010. "

He says, "Going forward beyond that for the 2010-11, so long as we believe that the Indian economy is going to grow and the commercial industry will also, that has been my standard long-term answer and I would continue to stick to that."

Also, there were some announcements coming in from Bosch, the auto component maker who supplies quite a bit of components for the Tata Nano and they talked about investing Rs 2,000 crore in the next two years in the country, this is over and above the Rs 2,100 crore the company has already invested in India.