The 2020 Auto Expo will see a lot of major carmakers backing out from the event and that includes several big names like Honda, Toyota, BMW, Audi and many more.
The 2020 iteration of the Auto Expo is about four months away from now, scheduled between 7th to the 12th of February, 2020. Quite unfortunately, this edition of the Auto Expo will be missing quite some major auto makers, for both cars and motorcycles alike. There are several reasons why a lot of carmakers have decided to give the Auto Expo a miss – the declining sales, shift to BS-VI emission norms and rising inventory are among the few major ones. So here’s a closer look at all the manufacturers you wouldn’t be seeing at this year’s Auto Expo.
Toyota
Toyota is one of the largest carmakers in India in terms of sales numbers. Toyota also had one of the largest stands at the last year’s iteration of the Expo and their absence comes more as a shock. We expected Toyota to showcase the new Velfire, the Corolla hybrid, the Rise compact SUV and rebadged versions of the Maruti Vitara Brezza and Ciaz. Toyota could have also showcased the all-new Yaris hatchback, but all of this will be given a miss.
Honda
Remember how Honda stole the show at the last Expo with the Honda Sports EV concept? A lot was expected from Honda at the 2020 Auto Expo as well. Honda will be unveiling the all-new Jazz at the Tokyo Motor Show and we expected that to be present at the Auto Expo. We were also looking forward to the unveil of the next-gen City at the 2020 Auto Expo. The Honda e hatchback might also have been present.
Jeep India
Although Jeep has no new model coming up immediately, they do plan toexpand their product lineup in India in future. There are two cars to look forward to from Jeep – one being a Ford Endeavor and Toyota Fortuner rivalling full-size SUV. The other will be a compact SUV to take on the likes of the Hyundai Venue and Ford EcoSport. However, these models are only expected to come by 2021. Jeep’s absence from the Auto Expo is still understandable.
Ford
Just like Jeep, Ford too does not have any upcoming India-specific products to show at the Auto Expo. That said, Ford is expected to have a strong presence at the next iteration of the Expo considering that there’s going a slew of Ford badged UVs from the Mahindra-Ford JV.
Audi
Audi was missing from the 2018 iteration of the Auto Expo and its the same story for 2020 as well. That said, Audi has quite a few important launches lined up – there’s the 2020 A6 that launching very soon and then, there’s also the 2020 A8 and 2020 Q3 slated for India. Audi is also yet to launch its new RS models in India and we would have certainly really loved to feast our eyes on them. Sigh!
BMW
BMW was one of the only two luxury carmakers at the 2018 Auto Expo and had one of the most expansive stands, displaying their entire model range including the scintillating M3 and M4. They also had their entire Motarrad range. However, this year we will see none of those and some few more we were expecting. We were looking forward to the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe that’s headed to India and other show stoppers like the Concept 4 and the Vantablack X6 as well.
Volvo
Volvo unveiled the all-new XC40 electric and it is headed to India sometime in the future. However, with Volvo missing the Auto Expo, we will have to wait some more till we see the XC40 electric in flesh. Apart from the XC40 electric, Volvo does not have any other new car or concept to show at the 2020 Auto Expo and so can perhaps be pardoned for their absence.
Jaguar Land Rover
Now this is quite a major miss. JLR was absent from the last iteration of the Auto Expo and they will be missing it this year as well. We would have really loved to see JLR at the Expo as we were really looking forward to the all-new Defender. Jaguar could also have showcased the i-Pace electric SUV. However, both these models will eventually come to India in 2021. We just have to wait a little longer.
Lexus
With Toyota not making it for the Expo, it was almost certain that Lexus too would have been missing. But this was a good opportunity for Lexus to showcase the LC 500h sports coupe for the first time to the Indians. Its headed to our market anyway in 2020 and that’s a missed opportunity.
Also Read : Hero MotoCorp Not Participating in the 2020 Auto Expo!
Citroen
Another absence which rather comes as a surprise is that of Citroen. Citroen will be starting operations in India from 2020 onwards and it would have been a good opportunity for them to showcase the C5 Aircross to the Indian audience. The PSA group has also been caught testing the DS7 in India quite a number of times and that too might see a launch in the near future in India. That’s again a missed opportunity for the PSA group.
Also Read : 2020 Auto Expo – Who’s Coming With What – All You Need to Know!
So this was a list of all the manufacturers that will not be attending the 2020 Auto Expo, and yes, they are are quite a few. In fact, we have more absentees this year than we have attendees. That said, the 2020 Auto Expo will still see a lot of action from the manufacturers who are attending the Expo. Have a look at all the exciting cars that you would really be seeing at the 2020 Auto Expo from the list we have compiled for you above.
