Aston Martin, Maserati, Bentley May Debut at Auto Expo 2016

British luxury sports car maker Aston Martin, its Italian rival Maserati and ultra premium automaker Bentley could be among the main attractions in the next year's Auto Expo to be held from February 5-9. According to industry sources, for the first time these luxury car makers have approached organisers of the Auto Expo to participate in India's flagship automobile show.

"Aston Martin, Maserati and Bentley have shown interest to take part in the Auto Expo and if they do it will be the first time that they will be taking part," a source said. Comments from the companies could not be obtained as e-mailed query remained unanswered.

Luxury car market in India has been gradually growing and is estimated to be over 30,000 units annually, with the likes of German firms Audi and Mercedes-Benz crossing the 10,000 units mark. The sports luxury car segment is also becoming an area of attraction with these companies, along with BMW seeking to expand the segment. The Auto Expo is organised by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), CII and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). The 2016 edition of the expo will be held in two separate venues like it was in 2014.

The motor show will be held at India Expo Mart at Greater Noida and the component show at Pragati Maidan in the Capital. According to the application form issued by the organisers, the public days of the expo will be from February 5-9, 2016, while February 3-4 will be exclusively reserved as media days as was the case last year. In last year's Auto Expo there were about 70 unveilings, of which 26 were global models. A total of 5.61 lakh people visited the show.