The NADA (Nepal Automobile Dealers’ Association) Auto Show is set to start tomorrow in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. The five day annual event is the biggest motor show in the mountain nation that will see over 100 stalls featuring 53 exhibitors and at least over a half-dozen new vehicle launches this year. It is expected to attract over 50,000 visitors.
According to NADA, 12 brands of four-wheelers and 11 brands of two-wheelers will showcase their vehicles. These participants include Daihatsu, Ford, Fiat, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Skoda, Nissan, Suzuki, Tata Motors, Volkswagen, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj, Mahindra, KTM, Royal Enfield, Terra Motors, UM Bikes, TVS and Yamaha.
Here's a summary of the confirmed exhibits and launches.
Fiat:
Fiat will conduct the Nepalese market launch of the refreshed Linea and the Punto Evo at the show. The cars are exported from the company's Ranjangaon plant in Maharashtra. Both, petrol and diesel variants are expected to launch at the show.
Toyota:
Toyota will launch the Etios Cross at the show. Launched in India in May, the Etios Cross got over 5,400 pre-launch bookings as of July 1. The Cross is based on the Etios Liva which went on sale in Nepal only recently.
Tata Motors:
The star attraction of the Tata Motors stall at NADA will be the Safari Storme Ladakh Edition, which was shown this year at the Auto Expo. The Ladakh Edition hasn't entered production yet, though officials maintain that it could if demand exists.
Maruti:
Maruti will showcase the Celerio at the show. The India-made hatchback is likely to go on sale in Nepal with the manual gearbox, as there still exists a demand-production gap for the AMT (automated manual transmission) variants in the home market of India.