The late-1970s Sipani Badal, at the INDEA booth, at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025
Okay, not really. I mean, the Sipani Badal isn’t
really coming back in any shape or form. But for one glorious week, this
three-wheeled plastic-fantastic from the ’70s had showgoers – at the Bharat
Mobility Global Expo 2025 – in its thrall. This was, mind, India’s premier
automotive show, where car and motorcycle manufacturers were busy taking the
covers off their latest, greatest electric vehicles that are all the rage these
days. Swoopy, swanky styling, powerful electric motors, batteries that charge
quickly and allow vehicles to be driver farther than ever before, and plush,
luxurious cabins filled with high-tech electronics, ADAS and big touchscreens –
that was the vision of mobility shown at this year’s Expo. And yet, amongst all
this glitter and EV-glamour, the stone-simple Badal held its own, bringing
happy smiles to the hundreds of people who visited the INDEA booth from 17th
to 22nd January.