Pendant ce temps là, à New Delhi, un salon automobile…

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Tient place, avec comme ambition d’être le premier au Monde, avec plus de 2 millions de visiteurs attendus, pour plusieurs raisons.

« For one, India is a fast-growing market for cars and two-wheelers. Compared with China’s 27 cars per 1,000 citizens, India has only seven car owners per 1,000 citizens. “Delhi’s Auto Expo event is the bellwether for the automobile industry. Both domestic and global companies can showcase products to the largest potential audience,” says Venu Srinivasan, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and CMD of TVS Motor.

Two, the 2010 edition holds immense significance for global vehicle manufacturers, since India and China were the fastest to recover from the financial crisis that swept the world last year. Car sales in the domestic market from April-November this year grew 21 per cent, while sales of medium and large trucks and buses in the same period dipped by barely 2.4 per cent. Much of the key markets in the US and Europe are still in the negative and yet to witness a recovery.

Three, global car and truck majors who skipped this year’s key events like the Tokyo Motor Show are lining up to showcase their products at the capital’s Auto Expo. “There could be multiple reasons as to why companies avoided participating in the global auto shows. One reason could be cost-cutting. For many of these global vehicle manufacturers, India is yet a virgin market and showcasing a concept model gives tremendous mileage. Component manufacturers benefit greatly from events like these,” says Mohit Arora, senior director, Singapore based JD Power & Associates.

Tous les constructeurs sont donc présents avec des annonces, des présentations dont Toyota (voir ci-dessous), Honda, Suzuki (actuel leader), mais aussi VW, Ford et Renault/Dacia. Ce salon annonce cependant un tournant majeur, les véhicules présentés sont “réalistes” et les vedettes sont petites, compactes. Les constructeurs présentent ici leurs modèles d’entrée de gamme qui comptent pour près de 80% des ventes.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oktyjz2D-ao&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

 

"India is developing as a small-car hub," senior director at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Sugato Sen, told AFP. He pointed to government policies that have promoted the production of small cars domestically, while rising incomes have driven demand for basic, no-frills vehicles. "India ultimately is a developing country where the average annual income is below 1,000 dollars a year, so this is reflected in the vehicles we use," he said.

"Growth in developed counties is almost saturated so they are looking for where they can sell, especially in the low-end, entry-level segment," said analyst Vaishali Jajoo from Angel Broking. Si l’Inde se “spécialise” dans la conception de ce type de produit, quelles conséquences pour l’Europe ?

En France, en 2009, les ventes se sont elles aussi concentrées sur les véhicules simples, économes pour des raisons évidentes de pouvoir d’achat (voir ici). En 2008, 50% des ventes concernaient les segments « économique inférieur », 57% en 2009.

 

Plus que jamais, ce segment de véhicule doit focaliser l’ensemble de nos efforts …

Source Archives Agence Française pour la Maîtrise de l’Energie.