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Motown India’s biggest event is on. The 14th edition of the Auto Expo, held in Greater Noida every two years, wraps up on February 14. The numbers look good. Spread over 58 acres, the expo has had 53 automobile companies unveiling 10 concepts and launching 22 new models. But numbers tell only part of the story. Beyond the visible vroom and the oomph, once you speak to executives, the worry is palpable.The auto industry is at a crossroads — and is beset with confusion and uncertainty. Policy disruptions have been aplenty. The leapfrog to Euro VI emission norms has been tough. The industry, with its century-old focus on ICE (internal combustion engine), is feeling the heat with the government’s big push for electric vehicles (EV). Inequitable industry growth has amplified the pain. With Maruti and Hyundai lording over close to 70% of the car market, other carmakers (over 18) have found the Indian roads tough to navigate.This year’s Auto Expo holds a mirror to these realities. The number of dropouts has surged. Over a dozen companies, including the Volkswagen Group, Ford Motor and Nissan, have given it a miss. Many have cited poor return on investment as the reason. With an accent on concepts, the number of models unveiled has been fewer compared with previous years. Over 11 startups — many of them EV-focused — have, meanwhile, rushed to participate.More than anything, Auto Expo reveals the multiple transitions in the Rs 4.5 lakh crore industry.A lot has changed in India’s Motown over the last three decades. Sales have multiplied. Competition has surged. Decks have shuffled. Policy norms — from emissions to safety — have been overhauled. Many companies (think General Motors) have come and gone. Some came with a big bang, riding aggressive ambitions (think Volkswagen), but have had a muted existence. But over all these years, one thing didn’t change. The leader has been constant — Maruti Suzuki , with a market share hovering around 50%. As usual, the auto show kicked off at its large pavilion where it showcased two concepts — the EV e-Survivor and Concept FutureS — and launched the all-new Swift.The Chinese are coming: that was the banner that was being waved for some time. And with some reason. MG Motor, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned SAIC Motor, acquired General Motors’ Halol plant in 2017 and is now readying for a 2019 launch. The Indian debut of Great Wall Motors and Changan Motors too has made headlines. China, which is the world’s largest EV market, has a slew of EV pioneers like SAIC, FAW, Geely, BAIC and Dongfeng. But they were conspicuous by their absence at the Auto Expo. The Chinese company BYD Co has a blink-and-you-miss presence at the little-known Goldstone pavilion. The Hyderabadbased Goldstone Infratech has bagged its maiden order to supply six e-buses to BEST Mumbai. It will assemble the e-buses in partnership with BYD.Globally, nimble and aggressive startups and cheerleaders like Tesla have generated an EV wave that is shaking up the industry. More than a dozen startups, many focused on the EV space, showed up at the Expo too. They include Emflux Motors, a Bengaluru-based, two-wheeler startup, the Swedish startup Uniti that tied up with India’s Bird Group, Menza Motors, Okinawa Autotech (escooters), Pubang Etron Electric Motor (e-rickshaw maker) and 22Motors (smart scooters). India’s EV pioneer Chetan Maini has led the wave. His startup Sun Mobility has joined hands with Ashok Leyland to build charging infrastructure across the country.Mahindra & Mahindra’s pavilion was predictably buzzing. The EV wave helps India’s SUV king (and the third largest passenger vehicle seller) strengthen its grip on the country’s roads. M&M, which acquired Reva Electric in 2010, has the first mover advantage in EV space. The company showed off a bevy of interesting products — its convertible SUV called TUV Stinger, G4 Rexton, India’s first e-SUV called e-KUV100.There were other EV concepts like UDO, Atom, Treo and an the e-bus e-Cosmo. M&M boss Anand Mahindra drew parallels between today and the early 1990s. In the first flush of liberalisation, as MNCs like Ford, Honda and Toyota rushed to India, homegrown car companies like M&M, Hindustan Motors, Premier Automobiles Ltd felt the heat. Some survived. “We were at a crossroads then. We are at a crossroads again. But of a different kind,” Mahindra said. At that time, it was all about how to build good products and technology. “Today it is about how we can redefine our existence,” he said.For all the razzmatazz, there are fewer companies this year: 53 as against 59 last year. Over two dozen companies, including biggies like JLR, Ford, Nissan, Fiat, Jeep, Harley-Davidson, Datsun, Volvo, the Volkswagen Group, Bajaj Auto and Royal Enfield, have given it a miss.There were fewer showstoppers as well. If 2016 saw Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, John Abraham and Manoj Bajpai from Bollywood and Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Zaheer Khan from cricket, this year only Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Tendulkar have showed up so far.Among the many factors at play, the biggest is the hurdles auto MNCs face on Indian roads. With top three players — Maruti, Hyundai and M&M — lording over 75% of the car market, 18 global majors are spoiling for the remaining 25%. A reason why GM decided to quit. This pain is deep and is unlikely to ease any time soon.Kia Motors is a late entrant in India, which has over 20 carmakers jostling for space. At the Auto Expo, Kia made up for lost time. In a huge, jazzed-up pavilion it showcased 16 models, including Kia SP Concept, a compact SUV it is readying for an Indian debut. “Der aaye par durrust aaye (We have come late but we have come stronger),” says HW Park, Global CEO of Kia Motors. Kia, the world’s eighth largest carmaker, selling over 2.8 million vehicles in 180 countries, is targeting millennials and is investing over $1.1 billion to set up a 300,000 unit plant in Andhra Pradesh. It hopes for an India debut in 2019 with big pipeline for EVs by 2025.Tata Motors’ pavilion bore witness to the changes afoot at its headquarters. In 2014, Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry had marked their joint presence even as Narain Karthikeyan and Priyanka Chopra added glamour to the JLR pavilion. In 2016, Mistry alone held fort (he was sacked later that year as Tata Group chairman), with Jaguar Land Rover ( JLR) models being the star attraction and Katrina Kaif holding the crowd’s gaze. This year, the new Tata Group chairman, the fuss-free N Chandrasekaran, took the stage. While Akshay Kumar infused some Bollywood glitz, JLR dropped out.India’s Motown is a fractious place these days. There are divergences on policy. Just before the Auto Expo, Tata Motors’ MD Guenter Butschek wrote about the need for a levelplaying field for homegrown companies. “Some of our (foreign) competitors have a much easier game. They have the solution already (referring to Euro VI norms). So for them it was more a question of customisation,” he wrote .There is friction on many counts and at many levels. There is the Indian vs MNC clash that Butschek was referring to. MNC subsidiaries’ high royalty payouts to their global HQ is also a bugbear for some. There is now an active hybrid lobby, led by Toyota Kirloskar, demanding tax concessions. A slew of EV makers have formed a new lobby group called the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV).Policy turbulence is the breeding ground for a squabbling industry susceptible to partisan lobbying. Motown and its industry body SIAM could be headed there. Some admit speaking in different voices has already weakened SIAM.