What's hot at Auto Expo 2016: Green cars, compact SUVs, models without engines

Text: Reuters

India's biggest auto show began this week in the suburbs of New Delhi. The event amounts to public relations, but is important for the 1,500 companies that show up, all of which want a piece of what likely will be the third-largest passenger car market by 2020. Here's what hot at Auto Expo 2016:

Going Green: Automakers know that the air quality in New Delhi and other Indian cities is getting worse, and that failing to show off their "green" credentials could mean poor PR and lower sales if government authorities start cracking down on emissions standards and car design to clean things up. From Tata Motors to Mahindra and Mahindra, most major companies unveiled battery or hybrid models.

In pic: Tata's Magic Iris Ziva is a small commercial vehicle which is powered by a fuel cell.

Compact SUVs: Rising income and the government's push for safer vehicles with more features mean demand will grow for something nicer than a no-frills hatchback. In India, that could be the compact SUV. Maruti, the country's biggest carmaker by sales, which dominates the entry-level segment, launched its first compact SUV at the expo on Wednesday.

In pic: The Vitara Brezza is the first compact SUV from country's top carmaker Maruti

Models: India's auto show participants seem to prefer fair-skinned foreign models. This "creates a lot of glamour. It started as a tradition, which has now become a necessity," said the official in charge of the Toyota stall at the expo. He refused to give his name as he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the company. "Now you see a mixtures of hostesses. Some years ago, there were only Indians."