Impact of Corona Virus on automobile industry could be extremely significant as many makers are dependent on crucial parts from China…
The threat of Corona Virus is real and it is impacting almost everything, including the way we work. It originated in China which is a hub of manufacturing and many countries, including India, import various parts for their vehicles.
Mr Rajan Wadhera, President of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers), has released a media statement on the impact of Corona Virus on the Indian automobile industry. He highlighted that many auto makers import about 10 percent of their raw materials from China. China is mostly in lockdown mode at this moment which will ‘critically’ hamper production of all vehicles – cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles and scooters.
He emphasized that the impact would be ‘grave’ on electric vehicles. This is because India does not have the magnitude nor the expertise in making EVs and its parts as of now. So, a lot of it is being imported, assembled and sold in India from China. In fact, we have many electric two wheeler manufacturers which are selling rebranded Chinese e-two-wheelers.
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Mr Wadhera also said that because of Corona Virus the supply of Bharat Stage 6 compliant vehicles will get impacted. He elaborated that Indian makers have started finding out alternative measures but it will also take a lot of time to reach stable production levels as these (locally made or imports from other countries) components will need regulatory testing.
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He also shared that the association had shared recommendations with the Indian Government to this regard. And acting on them, the Government has issued notifications of Force Majeure for Corona Virus along with 24 x 7 shipment clearance at all customs.
