Karan Gera, Dy. Manager, Marketing, Indo Autotech Limited says that demand trends could pick up after six months or so
Indo Autotech Limited is a manufacturer and supplier of precision sheet metal components, tubular parts and assemblies used in the automobile industry. The company has a strength of over 4,200 employees and 8,50,000 square feet of production facility spread across six production units in India. Karan Gera, Dy. Manager, Marketing, Indo Autotech Limited shared with DMI his views on the current state of business and demand trends for the auto industry. Excerpts.
How do you see the overall sentiment and the demand trends in the auto industry?
If you see the market scenario in the last five to six months, there is a downward trend which can be traced to the industry’s move to convert BS4 vehicles into BS6.
BS6 vehicles will be mass produced from March 2020 because after 1st week of March 2020 there will be no production of BS4 vehicle. So, the overall revenues are down, but from May onwards it will go up. Demand could also take a hit, seeing that BS6 vehicle could be a bit costly in comparison to BS4 vehicles. For example, BS6 2-wheelers could see a price hike of Rs 7,000 and BS6 4-wheelers could see a minimum hike of Rs 30,000 to 50,000. So there could be an immediate fall in demand, which may stabilize and even go up after 6 -8 months.
What has been your experience of this Auto Expo considering the global and local auto manufacturing industry growth has been a bit subdued and then the Coronavirus situation?
You are right, because there seems to be a lower footfall at Auto Expo which could be due to Coronavirus – already the Indian government has issued an advisory to restrict or disallow visitors from China to the show. If you see the Chinese section, you’ll see that it is the Indians who are representing their stalls.
What could be the direct or indirect effects of BS6 implementation on India’s auto industry and how do you see this from an implementation perspective?
If you see, a large percentage of consumers are not aware of the difference between BS4 and BS6. When we are buying the car, we from the auto industry know about BS4 and BS6, but a customer who is not from the industry, doesn’t. Surely, the sale will be relatively down for five to six months. But the demand levels will get better when the awareness levels improve, and with the approach of the festival season toward the end of the year.
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