The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has exposed the risk of automakers’ heavy dependence on China. As factories in China came to a standstill, manufacturing activities as far as Europe and the US were hit. We take a look at how much India, the world’s fifth-largest automaker, is impacted by the turn of events in China and where the country stands amid this crisis.
But first here is a look at all the major news in the auto space this week.
Automobile retail sales decline 5% in January
The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) on February 20 said passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales in January declined 4.61 per cent to 2,90,879 units as compared to the same month last year, hit by the tepid response by end customers.
According to the automobile dealers’ body, which collected vehicle registration data from 1,223 out of the 1,432 regional transport offices (RTOs), PV sales stood at 3,04,929 units in January 2019.
COVID-19 to hit vehicle production
India’s automotive industry is likely to bear the brunt of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 across China and neighbouring countries in South-East Asia.
The Indian auto industry is dependent on imports from China and also from countries that depend on Chinese companies for raw materials and the COVID-19 outbreak is set to have an adverse impact on the sector, ICRA said.
Bajaj sells more bikes outside India than at home
Bajaj Auto’s relentless focus on markets outside of India has helped the maker of Pulsar and KTM bikes to clock more sales in exports for two consecutive months.
The company sold more two-wheelers outside of India in January and December than in India during the two months
