(This story originally appeared in on Jan 23, 2020)

NEW DELHI: The Chinese dragon has come to the rescue of India’s prestigious Auto Expo. With a large number of manufacturers giving the event a miss in this year’s edition, including top names such as BMW, Audi, Jaguar and Land Rover, Honda, Toyota and Ford, the biennial event has literally been rescued by the Chinese makers that includes top companies such as SAIC (China’s biggest seller and owner of MG Motors ), FAW (entering through the Haima brand), Great Wall (largest Chinese SUV maker), and BYD (maker of electric buses and batteries).Apart from this, a number of Chinese companies have partnered smaller Indian makers and start-ups for electric two-wheelers.More than 20% of the space — over 8,000 sq mtrs of the total 40,000 sq mtrs at hand — has been reserved by the big Chinese firms at the Expo venue. “They are coming here with new technology, electric cars, and a number of model unveilings,” Sugato Sen, deputy DG of industry body Siam — that organises the event along with CII and ACMA – told TOI.The Expo (held at Greater Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi) kicks off for the media on February 5, and will showcase launches and new unveilings on the next day as well. For the public, the event opens up on February 7, and will run till the 12th of the month.Absentees apart, the event will surely have its share of action and will witness unveilings and model launches from companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and foreign makers like Renault, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, and Skoda.While generally being seen as the Indian version of some of the world’s biggest vehicle extravaganzas such as those held in Detroit, Geneva, Tokyo and Paris, the expo this time has been bogged down by the nagging slowdown that has hit the auto industry. Much of the players, battling slowdown and poor buyer sentiments, feel it better to avoid the ‘auto carnival’ as they focus on maintaining profitability and managing marketing budgets. This despite the fact that Siam is literally throwing in a red carpet for the event, and offering attractive discounts to those committing a larger presence.“It doesn’t make much sense for us to spend extravagantly at the expo when sales are not happening in the market. Conserving cash is critical at these times and we intend to spend it judiciously rather than invest heavily only on one property (read the Expo),” said a senior official of top company that has given the event a miss.Many companies who are not showing up also blame the ‘mega transition’ that they are undertaking as the industry migrates from BS4 to BS6 emission vehicles . New vehicles are not ready, and plans are still being firmed up. The crunch is felt even more in two-wheelers where the entire industry seems to be missing with brands such as Hero Moto, TVS, Bajaj Auto , and Royal Enfield staying away (the last two were not present even in last edition).“The domestic two-wheeler industry has been passing through a time of volatility, with market demand still continuing to be sluggish. Notwithstanding these challenges, Hero Moto — and indeed the entire industry — is gearing up for the migration to the new emission norms ahead of the mandatory deadline of April 1, 2020. At a time such as this, it is prudent for us to prioritise our resources towards meeting business objectives for the benefit of our customers and other stakeholders,” a spokesperson for Hero Moto said.Siam’s Sen, however, feels that the event retains its charm, and will surely pick up at the next edition. “It’s not a dead-end. India is growing, and our market will remain robust.”