Electric vehicles hog the limelight at Pune Auto Expo, biggies stay away

PUNE: Emerging but lesser-known electric vehicles were the focus of the 17th edition of the Pune Auto Expo that got under way at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on Friday.

On display were at least half-a-dozen electric scooters and about a dozen e-rickshaws, including some from a Chinese manufacturer. Few of the electric two-wheelers that were on display included that ones with a range of 100km on a single charge, which takes about 7 hours. However, like last year, the big automakers from the city have given the annual event a complete miss.

Till Saturday evening, the expo saw a footfall of about 1,500 people. The organisers, however, are hopeful that the event will draw about 15,000 walk-ins in the four days of the expo that ends on Monday.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also gave the inauguration a miss, but the organisers expect the CM to turn up on Sunday. Apart from the e-vehicles, there were also displays from college students, lubricant makers, some auto component manufacturers and some bicycles. “This place might lack the pomp and celebrations of auto shows elsewhere, but we do get people who are targeted customers. This year, we are more confident that exhibitors will get their money’s worth,” Virmeet Singh Maini, president, Poona Automobile Dealers Association, said.

The four-day expo was inaugurated by Kinetic Group chairman Arun Firodia, where he emphasized on a better battery swap infrastructure to promote the cause of e-vehicles. “The government should make reservations for battery swap stations every 30km. This will allow people to adopt e-vehicles faster,” he said, adding, “Even old and polluting vehicles can be converted to e-vehicles.”

The expo also had a section dedicated to State Transport (ST) and Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mandal Limited (PMPML). Two drivers each from ST and PMPML, who have spent decades without getting involved in any accident, were felicitated at the event.

One of the key attractions of the event was dealers selling helmets below the market price at the expo. “Helmets are a hot issue now, propmting us to sell genuine units at Rs 75 subsidy,” Maini said.