The car was expected to have a price tag of Rs 10 lakh and launch was slated for this June.
New participants included Chinese players such as Great Wall Motors and Haima Automobile along with Olectra.
Chinese players form a major part, around 20 per cent of the auto expo this year, despite a slowdown in the Indian automobile sector in the last one year. Over two dozen top officials from various companies were planning to participate in the event, besides a group of journalists.
The promoter-brothers, distant cousins to IndiGo's Rahul Bhatia, are eyeing Air India's ground handling subsidiary to augment their aviation services business even as they make a big play in EVs.
Chinese automakers Great Wall Motors, FAW Haima Automobile, and Changan Automobile, after dithering about entering India for some years, have been encouraged by the robust sales performance of the late entrants Kia Motors and MG Motors even in a slowing market.
Owing to the poor market conditions and tepid sentiments, the size of the show has shrunk compared to the last edition, which took place in 2018. A majority of the two-wheeler makers, and several car and commercial vehicle makers, have opted out of this year's show, which opens for the media on Wednesday.
After years of giving free passes to counterparts from Korea, Japan, US in the Indian auto market, Chinese automakers had planned a major push to grab the fifth largest car market in the world. But the shutdown of factories and logistics hubs in the country following the outbreak of coronavirus is slowly constricting the business of Chinese auto majors which have recently entered India.
The number of participating automakers has fallen from 50 in 2018 to 30 this year. The count of exhibitors, including technology companies, has come down from 119 to 112. And showstopper luxury and supercar brands, including Toyota, Jeep, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Volvo will be missing. Similarly, the commercial vehicle makers also gave the show a miss -- a prolonged economic slowdown has dented their fortunes and near chances of any recovery.
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