Mumbai: The IAA Commercial Vehicles at Hanover will feature ''IAA India Day 2008,'' which will present first hand information on the growing Indian commercial vehicle market as well as focus on the prospects of Indo-German projects.

The IAA India Day will take place on 29 September 2008, at the IAA Commercial Vehicles, in room 15/16 of the convention centre, on the Hanover Exhibition Grounds.

After the welcome speech, Nikolaus Kraus, project leader Europe / Asia at BHK International, will speak on the current Indian commercial vehicle market and its latest developments and challenges.Later other speakers comprising of global auto makers will talk in detail about their experience of working with an Indian joint-venture partner and on perspectives on the Indian commercial vehicle market. It will be followed by round table meetings, where the panel would answer questions of interested companies.

India is one of the fastest growing national economies. In view of the continuing strong economic growth, the Indian government has approved large investments for the nation-wide expansion of the infrastructure and is planning further expansion. The need for transportation is growing rapidly and the demand for commercial vehicles is huge.

According to auto experts, from 2000 to 2007 the market for commercial vehicles in India has trebled to a volume of 4,80,000 vehicles. Production showed similar growth, to 5,38,000 vehicles. It is estimated that in the current year the production of commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will be around 3 lakh units, which is about  45 per cent above the 2005 figure.

Around 2,85,000 commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will be sold on the Indian market in 2008, which corresponds to a rise of 43 per cent as compared to 2005. Omnibus sales will account for 74,000 units, a rise by 38 per cent compared to 2005 sales. Introduction of the exhaust standard Euro 4 in 2010 will set off further renewal of the commercial vehicle fleet.

A huge potential and ever more competitive local industry and development make India one of the most important growth markets for the global commercial vehicle industry.