Delhi Auto Expo 2016: Record number of launches this year

The Delhi Auto Expo, kicking off from February 5, is just around the corner and if you were short of reasons for feeling excited about India’s largest automobile extravaganza, then this piece of news should be your elixir. It is being reported that the upcoming edition of the Delhi Auto Expo will be the largest in terms of the number of launches.

With a total of 85 passenger cars, utility vehicles, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles all set to be introduced at this biennial event, petrolheads are in for a real treat, if a report in the Economic Times is to be believed. The number has thus gone up by 20 per cent from the previous edition and has almost doubled up from 2012.

The report further points out that around 20 of the new launches will come from outside the Indian borders. The crowds are also set to soar this year, with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) expecting footfalls ranging up to 6 lakh people during the course of the event.

One of the most exciting launch on the cards is Maruti Suzuki’s new compact SUV, the Vitara Brezza; the XA Alpha prototype whose name was revealed in a teaser recently, as we had reported. The new Suzuki Vitara Brezza will get both petrol and diesel engines. While it will be introduced with the 1.4-litre K14B petrol unit that is also seen on the Ertiga, and makes 95PS and 130Nm, it will also come in diesel form with a 1.3-litre DDiS unit that produces 90PS of peak power and 200Nm of torque. Also expect the Vitara Brezza to get the 1.6-litre diesel that you get on the S-Cross making 320Nm of peak torque.

As we had also reported earlier, Maruti Suzuki will also debut the 7-seater Wagon R at the expo, it is also expected to debut cars, like the Ignis, from various other segments. The Hyundai Tucson has also been rumoured to be set for an unveiling at the event.

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While these cars remain the talk of the town, various other cars like Chrysler's Grand Cherokee and Wrangler (the sports utility vehicle that heralds the brand's entry into the country), Tata's Nexon, Honda's BR-V, Datsun's redi-Go, a global offering from Mercedes GLC and Tivoli from the stables of Mahindra & Mahindra's South Korean subsidiary Ssangyong are also gearing up to impress suitors and enthusiasts at the show.

Japanese auto major Toyota will unveil the much-awaited new Innova while Tata Motors may also unveil the multipurpose vehicle Hexa as well along with the Nexon compact SUV, said the report.

Following the unveiling of an array of concepts at the recent CES Show in Las Vegas, Audi is also expected to take the Indian streets by storm with the new R8, Audi Prologue concept and the Audi A8 L. Elsewhere, JLR’s new sports saloon Jaguar XE will also be looking to catch the eye of many a luxury buyer.

After stepping into damage control mode in the wake of the emission scandal, German carmaker Volkswagen is also expected to come up with an entry-level sedan based on the Polo platform at the Auto Expo.

Ensuring proper infrastructure for an event of this large measure, the gross indoor exhibition space has been increased from 62,000 sq m in the previous edition to 68,000 sq m in the forthcoming edition of the show. An additional carpet area of 37,240 sq m has also been set up for the upcoming edition of the show as automobile enthusiasts gear up for an exciting week in February.