Indian automobile industry to hold Auto-expo in Bangladesh
Indian automobile industry to hold Auto-expo in Bangladesh:- The automobile industry of India is currently deepening its ties with Bangladesh by organising an auto-expo there in February next year.
This is for the first time that the Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (Siam) will be partnering with its Bangladeshi counterpart to organise the expo.
The participating company
The event, which will be known as the ‘Dhaka Automotive Show’, will see all the leading Indian automobile and component manufacturers participating in it.
It is reported that the top Indian companies namely Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto, among many others, have expressed their interest in participating in the show.
The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India, the top body of auto component makers, will be a prime partner.
About the Expo
“A large Bangladesh delegations visited India last week. They are trying to grasp how automobile manufacturing has developed in India. Together, we have decided to organise an expo in Dhaka,” said an official at the Siam.
Various Indian companies export cars, two-wheelers and numerous commercial vehicles to Bangladesh, which has no manufacturing base of its own. Bangladesh completely depends upon imports from different countries such as Japan, Korea and India.
The Indian automobile industry is keen on expanding its sales to Bangladesh. “We have to explore all markets around us. Bangladesh has a potential of growth in the automobile sector. As an economy they have done well and their per capita income is currently close to $1,500,” an official added.
Numerous Indian companies have their assembly units in Bangladesh, Tata Motors has a joint venture of assembly unit with Bangladesh’s Nitol Motors and sells commercial as well as passenger vehicles.
Major in commercial vehicles, Ashok Leyland is all geared up for setting up an assembly unit in Bangladesh with its local partner.
India’s biggest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp is also setting up a manufacturing unit with the Bangladesh’s Nitol Niloy Group, which already has a partnership with Tata Motors.
The unit which will have a capacity to produce 150,000 units, will come into operation from 2017. The Indian tyre maker Ceat is also setting up a unit in collaborations with a Bangladesh based company. The expo will give a big platform to all these manufacturers.
Auto-expo in abroad
Earlier, Siam had organised an expos in Sri Lanka but discontinued it some years ago due to problem related to high taxes on the imports of automobiles in the island nation.
The annual sale of cars in Bangladesh is estimated to be around 50,000. However, a large number of cars are reconditioned (used) ones, imported from various countries like Japan.
India only exports new vehicles to Bangladesh. However, both the refurbished as well as the new vehicles attract the same import rate, which ranged from 45 per cent for vehicles below 1,500cc, 100 per cent for vehicles between 1,500 and 2,000cc and on. The two-wheeler market is estimated at around 200,000 units a year.
