New Delhi
The automotive industry, which was only slowly beginning to accelerate after the first COVID wave, is now again being threatened by a setback due to rising infections in the rural areas. The second COVID wave is causing a drastic rise in infection rate in all parts of the country.
The industry representatives and vehicle dealers have mentioned that walk-ins to their showrooms have reduced considerably. Two-wheeler sales have already reduced too. According to Motilal Oswal Securities, two-wheeler sales have gone down by 30-50% without any immediate recovery. It is expected that tractor sales will also decline in the coming months.
According to Vinkesh Gulati, President, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), many states where the COVID cases are high have gone into lockdown. In other states too, footfalls have reduced because of the fear of getting infected. Many dealerships have closed, and overall, things don’t look good for the industry.
Apart from the rising COVID cases, restrictions in different states have made it difficult for OEMs to function as before. It is to be noted that the industry is already struggling with a semiconductor shortage. The industry does hope that with rapid vaccination plans, things will get back to normalcy this time sooner.
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