The Automobile Industry - In The Middle Of An Unprecedented Slowdow

The automobile industry is in the middle of an unprecedented slowdown. With companies beginning to lay off workers, the worst is yet to come.

- Sumant Banerji

It was exactly 12 months ago when sale of automobiles in India in general and passenger vehicles in particular, began to feel the pinch of the economic slowdown that has gripped the country so viciously.

The initial ominous signs came in the first week of August last year when heavy rains had flattened Kerala. This happened ahead of the state’s biggest festival, Onam, which is followed by Ganesh Chaturthi in West India, and Navratri and Diwali in the North. Together they form a near three-month spell of festivity that brings in good sales for automobile companies. The natural calamity last year was an early warning of what was in store. A bad Onam was a bad omen.

“Kerala is a very robust market. It contributes 10 per cent of industry sales and it is such a dependable market that everybody looks at Kerala to offset any shortfall in other markets,” recalls Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice President and Director, Honda Cars India. “So when Kerala went down due to the floods, we knew we were in for a challenging time.” But no one had any inkling of how challenging it would turn out to be.