Auto Expo 2016 – A Recap

The 2016 Auto Expo has come to a close but the excitement it created still lingers on. In fact, this year saw more than six lakh people from all over India come to see the future of the automobile industry unfold. Even Mr. Vishnu Mathur, Director General, SIAM, expressed his delight at the success of the show saying, “We believe the Auto Expo has successfully evolved from being just another exhibition of vehicles to a showcase of Indian manufacturing strength and technological capabilities. With over 108 new products being launched and unveiled and over 6,01,914 footfalls received over the last one week, we believe this Expo will strengthen the belief of our manufacturers in the Indian automotive industry.

The 2016 Auto Expo was filled with eye-catching motorcycles, cars and even commercial vehicles. To glam up the event even more Bollywood celebrities like Katrina Kaif, Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee, Aaliya Bhatt, Taapsee Pannu and cricketing stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli and Piyush Chawla were in attendance too. Manchester United legend Louis Saha also was a part of the event.

But the stars of the 2016 Auto Expo were the new motorcycles and scooters unveiled. Yamaha India kicked off day one with their showcase of their new updated version of their popular scooter the Ray christened the Ray ZR. They also launched their latest motorcycle the MT-09 the next day. Next up was Honda Motorcycles who finally showcased the Africa Twin and plan to bring it to the Indian market soon. But the biggest unveil from Honda was the Navi. This tiny moto-scooter has already started making waves in the automotive fraternity. DSK Benelli enthralled the audience by unveiling four new motorcycles the TNT Naked T-135, BX 250 Motard, Tornado 300 and the TRK 502. Japanese giant Suzuki unveiled a new long overdue update of their most popular scooter the Access 125 and a new variant of the Gixxer which sports a rear disc brake and a variant of the Gixxer SF which now comes with a Fuel Injection system.

Hero MotoCorp also had four new motorcycles on display - the new Splendor i-Smart, new Xtreme 200S, XF3R and an electric version of the new Duet scooter. Newcomer UM motorcycles finally decided to launch their Renegade range of motorcycles and look like a stronger competitor for the Royal Enfield 350cc motorcycles. TVS set the stage on fire with their new scooter the Entor Q210, their performance motorcycle the Akula 310 and their super sport the X21. Aprilia unveiled their new 150cc scooter the SR150 and Mahindra showcased a variety of modified Mojo’s and their electric scooter the Genze.

Day two of the Auto Expo saw Triumph launching two new motorcycles – the Street Twin and the Bonneville T120 and showcased the new Thruxton R which will be launched later this year. Lohia Auto had unveiled two new electric scooters - the Oma Star Li and the Elit 3000. Finally, it was USA based two wheeler manufacturer Indian to take center stage and unveil two new motorcycles - the Indian Roadmaster and the Indian Chief Classic.

But if you want to read more about the motorcycles that were launched and unveiled, check out our report of Day 1 and our report on Day 2 of the 2016 Auto Expo.