[DGSCS]

Hi all,

I wanted to share my experience of visiting Auto Expo 2025 at the Bharat Mandapam on Sunday i.e. 19th January, which was an open day for everyone with free entry.

I reached the venue at 12:30 to find a huge line at gate 6, and guard diverting everyone to other gates for entry. After a lot of running, i managed to reach gate 3, where i was patiently waiting in the entry line, when a group of 50-60 people broke the line and ran towards the gate. This resulted in the guards stopping entry all together.

Once they opened the gate to let 1 person inside at a time, the crowed pushed the gate open and everyone ran inside, without getting their QR code checked or even getting security checked. The entry system was was very badly managed. Once inside it was jam packed!! Maybe due to the fact that it was a Sunday and entry was free but this much crowd without proper arrangement is a catastrophe in the making.

Regardless i managed to snap some pics:
New M5


M4


911GT3 RS


911


Taycan Turbo


Panamera GTS


SL55



Maybach EQS


S63 AMG



G Electric


BYD U8


Skoda RS




Skoda Superb


Skoda concept car (this was a looker)


Kodiaq


Harrier EV


The event like is said above was itself very mismanaged because they weren't ready for such a large crowd. Luckily i had seen videos online from the media day and knew exactly what to see and which halls to visit. Porsche stall was the best but having it right opposite the BMW stalls led to a literal choke point where people couldn't even move.





Overall experience was mixed but definitely not as good as it used to be.

[Shoury A Dasari]

Agreed with what you've said. While I wasn't present on any of the days, I completely support the opinion that the vehicles displayed weren't revolutionary and most of them weren't even relevant to the majority of people buying cars today. Of the top of my head, Mahindra stands out as a brand that wasted the opportunity by displaying cars which were already on sale. I understand that the XEV 7e / XUV 7OO EV may not have been ready to display, having just unveiled the BE 6 and XEV 9e, but I think they really did not need to be there if they had nothing new to show.

[nakuls003]

I went to the Auto Expo on 21st January, thinking there won't be that big of a crowd on a Tuesday afternoon but I was wrong. There were way too many people, so much so that I couldn't get a chance to sit in some of the cars I wanted to, because of the number of people waiting already. A lot of young boys were making reels, being loud and obnoxious, chanting slogans etc. surrounding the drifting area, perched on each other's shoulders. The food court in Hall 5 had issues with UPI payments, although there were a good number of options/vendors. The way in and out of parking was jam packed too.

On my way back I was thinking maybe I should have made better use of my time. Or maybe my age of 35 years is catching up with me and I'm an old uncle now.

[spkrnh]

Finally, someone who voiced my sentiments.

It was a disappointment in many aspects.

1. Mahindra : biggest disappointment. After having the BE 6 and XEV 9e extensively driven and covered in events earlier, Mahindra should have shown the Rall-e or XEV 7e. Also some technical specs on the how much the awd versions are going to produce in terms of power would have been nice.

2. Tata wowed with the Avinya concept. But again their mainstream products were half baked. Showing Sierra with a closed interior was not good. Especially when the EV concept was shown 2 years back with the same. They could have used this opportunity to showcase the regular rear bench seat in ICE models and a working lounge seat in an EV for a feel of the back seat.
The Harrier EV was 99% similar to what was shown 2 years back. What they needed to reveal were the specs of the battery and power figures.
Also i did not see any videos of the interior experience of Harrier EV. I Suppose that was kept locked too.
3. Overall the Chinese had a much grander and more interesting display this time around, both MG and BYD. Just like Porsche. BMW ix1 lwb was a pleasant surprise.
4. Skoda had a good display but their prices are now so high it is not enamouring anymore. The first Octavia, 1st and 2nd gen Superb and even first VRs were attractive for what they offered for that price. Now i know i cannot even consider anymore, even the RS models which will come at 50l plus on road. You can get a sparingly used BMW 330i for that cost.

[Carma2017]

There is a reason why Samsung, Apple and Google have their own events to launch products and grab exclusive eyeballs. Earlier there used to be launches and unveiling at CES and MWC Barcelona as well. But that practised has now stopped. At the Bharat Mobility, under pressure of GOI, OEMs may be complying with their presence, but big ticket announcements would always be done at exclusive platforms.

[vinya_jag]

These expos have become few and far in between. I remember going to these shows in Bangalore almost every year, where Kanteerava indoor stadium used to host them. I had once even gone to an expo in Mysore.
Gone are those days. Post Covid, these kind of shows have become fewer and fewer. No wonder such a rush. Hopefully the interest shown would rekindle automakers to do more such shows

[GTO]

The Auto Expo is only good for visits on media days, IMHO. 4 of the Team-BHP Mods / Crew were there this year .

But if without a media pass, I would suggest avoiding the weekends. Go there early on Tuesday or Wednesday morning (the final days). In fact, early morning is the best way to beat the crowds in anything in India (road-trips, shopping at malls, early lunches at restaurants, driving around the city...).

[NarediAni7518]

As a childhood dream, I had always wanted to visit the Auto Expo, and coincidentally, I was in Gurgaon this time during the expo days and had planned a visit on 19th Jan very excitedly, but boy I was so disappointed by the crowd and parking. It took me more than an hour to get a parking randomly at Supreme Court Metro Station, and too much traffic right outside Bharat Mandapam. On top of that, the hall was so crowded that the excitement died right outside. If this was the experience, I don't think so I will ever go to such an expo in India ever again.

[PaddleShifter]

The Auto Expo is full of non-enthusiasts on general days once the media days are over and the expo is opened to the general public (nothing wrong with it and everyone deserves to be where they want to and have access).

Many are simply there for the sake of it and quite a few seem to be more interested in the models rather than the cars. One can see such people click and focus more on the beauties standing on two legs rather than the four tyres.

I attended it in 2014 on general days based on invitation sent by FIAT India and could enjoy the Expo virtually as a media person (we could check out all the cars inside out after being let in by the organizers at every stall). I have stopped attending after 2014 because of the mad rush and an equally challenging time finding a shuttle to the ISBT/ railway station afterwards.

[anjan_c2007]

Thanks DGSCS for your coverage. About the security failure during your visit, its an alarm bell for the organisers who may have taken things lightly while planning the security contract part of the show.

The Skoda Concept SUV appears to be the elder sibling of the Kodiaq, that is available with its 2.0 TSI/ 140 kW engine. It costs Rs 45-50 L on road which is quite unreasonable given its tech specs. If ever this concept (Kodiaq with a booster dose) takes shape it should command a price somewhere between Rs 75 L to 1 crore. Very few would agree to part with such an amount to merely get a SUV with a Skoda badge.

[coldice4u]

Originally Posted by NarediAni7518

As a childhood dream, I had always wanted to visit the Auto Expo, and coincidentally, I was in Gurgaon this time during the expo days and had planned a visit on 19th Jan very excitedly, but boy I was so disappointed by the crowd and parking. It took me more than an hour to get a parking randomly at Supreme Court Metro Station, and too much traffic right outside Bharat Mandapam.

My principle is to never take a car to such events. Parking has and will always be a big challenge. I attended the Expo on Saturday. Took the metro and a quick entry into the expo through gate 10. Also the crowd was at near acceptable levels that day.

[EasyRider Suraj]

It was REALLY REALLY bad. I would have avoided it if I knew how it was going to be. Went there yesterday on 22nd.

I am not exaggerating but The BMW-Porsche point had me worrying that we could easily die here in a stampede. This was such a big security risk and disaster waiting to happen. It was also felt very hot inside. Next time I am only going if I have day 1-2 pass or they have tickets. If they had a ticket price of nominal ₹150/person 70% of the crowd would have not been there, this should tell you the type of people visiting there.

The other sore point was vehicles that were present. In cars emphasis was on EVs and for motorcycles the less I say the better. Royal Enfield, Triumph, Honda, Kawasaki, Aprilia, KTM and many other were not present (Honda was there but with their e activa) only even though they launched their CB650r and CBR just days ago). The idiots at TVS decided they will remove their upcoming 300cc ADV after Day 1 so could see't that.

Yamaha had the best stall and my respect for them as a brand have increased since then. They had their vintage like RX100, RD350 along with gen 1 FZ & R15. Bike like MT09, Tennnere 700 were just standing there without any barricading for any one to sit and checkout. They were also allowing people to sit on their Moto GP bikes!!!

The food was trash as is usually the case with such events. There was also very few brands that were giving merch. Last time I went to Auto Expo in 2013 I had bags full of merch and had overall very awesome experience compared to this.

My last

[Shreyans_Jain]

Auto Expo is best avoided. It has always been overcrowded and under-managed, and only seems to get worse every time. There is no point seeing concept cars with are either irrelevant to the Indian car scene or are never going to make it to market. As for the actual ones that matter, they are few and far between. Coverage on online media is anyway very thorough, so it’s not like you are missing anything. Better to enjoy a crisp and concise summary of the good stuff here on TBhp.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Auto Expo is only good for visits on media days, IMHO. 4 of the Team-BHP Mods / Crew were there this year .

Can’t agree more! With the volume of crowds present on most days, it feels like a pointless exercise to visit the expo. All one can manage is a distant glimpse of some shiny new cars before the crowd pushes you away. Even for hardcore car enthusiasts, it is a tough sell.

Honestly, it is so much better to just see the high quality pictures that the Team-BHP mods curate on the manufacturer wise threads.

It is only worth visiting if you actually get to interact with the cars up close. This time, I had access to the BMW and Porsche stalls, so those were the only ones I bothered visiting. In my opinion, getting to spend quality time with the i7, 5 series, GT3 RS and Taycan was far better than getting pushed about at other stalls without even being able to get close to the cars on display. It is all about touch and feel. If one just has to see the car from a distance, might as well look up pictures and videos online.

[Skorp_Knight]

I visited on the 19th (Sunday), and this was the first expo I visited. I had been longing to go there for 8ish years by now, but due to some reason or other it never happened.

All the points listed are true; the queues were long, the crowd was humongous, and the arrangements were not apt for the sheer numbers people showed up in. But quite honestly, if you're allowing everyone to get in, no arrangements can be put up to handle such a crowd, much less an Indian crowd at that. A paid ticket would solve the problem by half I assume, but I'm not sure if that's the desired result.

I enjoyed the show regardless, I was there to experience the atmosphere of unveils and launches I had only seen through a screen so far, and to feast my eyes on dolled-up freshly launched, upcoming, and exotic vehicles, and I can gladly say I was happy.