
MUMBAI, MAY 8: India8217;s first virtual trade fair focussed on the auto industry, AutoNet 8217;99, will open for bookings from Tuesday. The expo will go live on the web on July 1 at expopoint.com/autonet. Unlike most trade fairs it will run on only on the internet and not be available at any physical location.
Bookings will be free and participants will not be have to pay for exhibition space. quot;I8217;m sure all major auto manufacturers, component manufacturers and service companies will participate because there is no downside,quot; said Gaurav Motwane, managing director of Pixar Multimedia which is organising the event. Exhibitors will, however, have to pay for displaying product pictures Rs 430 per picture and animated banners Rs 4,300 at their booths.
Alternatively, they can opt for the format specified by Pixar which allows them a panel with a logo and company name, a panel listing all the products, and a business card exchange facility. Visitors to the stall can drop their enquiries at this facility whichwill automatically forwarded to the exhibitor8217;s e-mail address. In the second stage, the facility will be tailored to exhibitor8217;s needs by setting the form according to what the company wants to know about the visitors. Mahindra and Mahindra, Hindustan Motors and Daewoo have already listed as participants in the expo. Apart from them, ten other companies, who are clients of Pixar, have also signed up. More participants are being enlisted through e-mail. quot;We have a database of 50,000 companies,quot; said Motwane. Pixar has developed sites for over 12 fairs including seven concurrent fairs for IETF8217;99 and AutoExpo8217; 98. It plans to launch a new fair at the site every two months and develop expopoint.com as a portal. The site also features a search engine which allows users to search for exhibitions.