New Delhi, Jan 4(ANI): The Curtain Raiser to the 10th India Auto Expo took place in national capital, a day before the seven-day auto exhibition kicks off on Tuesday.

Auto Expo is the Complete Automotive Show organized jointly by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Pawan Goenka, President of Society Of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), an apex Industry body representing 44 leading vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers, said: “There is a lot that has changed between the 9th auto-expo and the 10th auto-expo that is in the last two years.”

“In these two years the auto industry has gone through one of the worst showdowns which we have witnessed in many years and right now we are going through the faster growth also in many, many years and therefore this auto-expo becomes special for us especially in India because what it shows that the Indian auto-industry is very resilient and very robust and growing in spite of the difficulty that we have faced in the last year or so,” he added.

Car sales in India are set to jump about 16 per cent this year to 1.4 million vehicles, buoyed by robust economic growth and government incentives, in contrast to a slump in many developed markets.

The first Auto Expo was held in 1986, the second in 1993, and the third in 1996. Since then, Auto Expo has been institutionalised as a biennial show. (ANI)