The Delhi Auto Expo (DAE) on Saturday auctioned over 4,000 Indian vehicles to the highest bidder.
The auction in the southern city of Pune was organised by the Delhi Auto Forum, an association of dealers, in partnership with the Delhi Motor Vehicles Corporation (DMV).
“We hope the winning bidder will provide a satisfactory guarantee for a good future for all our Indian drivers.
It’s not good for them to be sold to other people and the vehicle is no good to the consumers,” said Vinay Kumar, the executive director of the association.
Kumar said there were many buyers who were not prepared to give up their cars in the auction.
“There’s a lot of potential for a better future for these cars if the winning bidders give us a satisfactory promise,” he added.
The vehicle that won the auction was a 2007 Tata Nano.
“The car is in good condition and has a good value.
The car is also available to buy from other dealers in Delhi.
If you go to any dealer in Delhi you will find this car,” said Kumar.
The auction had a low bid of Rs 5,000.
According to an official statement, the auction had started at 8:30am.
“After we had settled the bidding process, the first vehicle was brought out and auction was opened at 10:30 am.
We had the vehicle appraised by our experts.
The buyer made a good offer and the bidding began at 10 am,” said Vijay Kumar Pandey, president of the Delhi Automobile Forum.
“When we reached the venue, we saw that the vehicle was very well valued and was ready for the bidding.
We got a good number of bids,” said Pandey.
“All the bids were in the low Rs 5 lakhs.
The bidding started at Rs 50,000,” said another official.
“We were given two days to decide which one of us should take the car,” added Pandey who added that the bidding took place in the early hours of Saturday.
“As the auction starts, the bidding will continue in the evening and then at 11 am on Sunday morning.
All the biddings were finished by 6 pm,” said the official.
The bidding began in the morning and ended at around 10.30 am, after which all the cars were removed from the auction venue.
“At 10.40 am, we were able to remove the vehicle from the venue and then it was taken to the auction premises,” said Piyush Kumar, a vendor who helped carry the vehicle to the venue.
Pandey said there was a lot more than one bidder.
“Every car is different and the price of each one is based on a number of factors.
A lot of people were bidding for the same vehicle,” he said.
Panday said that the owner of the car is an auto industry worker.
“He is not a wealthy person and he has not been able to sell the car to a buyer who has an interest in it.
“It’s not that the buyer is a hoarder. “
We have offered a sum of Rs 1 crore (Rs 1.25 lakh) to the owner to buy the car, but he has declined,” said Singh, the dealer.
“It’s not that the buyer is a hoarder.
The buyers are looking for a car which has a better safety record, is more fuel efficient, has a higher mileage,” said Balakrishnan, a dealer from Kota, a small town in the northern part of Delhi.