NEW DELHI: The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) on Wednesday said that the turnover of the industry has plunged 34 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.19 lakh crore ($15.9 billion) during the first half of financial year 2021 (H1FY21) as production came to a complete halt during the June quarter.
Despite a strong recovery seen in the second half of the fiscal, ACMA said that the industry is likely to report a high double-digit de-growth in FY21 and it would take at least four years to reach the peak levels of 2018-19. “The auto industry witnessed a downturn in FY 2019-20, and the situation further aggravated with the outbreak of the pandemic and the lockdown.
While the first quarter for FY21 was significantly stressed, the sales of vehicles witnessed improvement, month-on-month, in the second quarter with unlocking of the economy,” said Vinnie Mehta, ACMA Director General. Exports of auto components fell 23.6 per cent to Rs 39,003 crore in H1 2020-21 while imports fell 32.7 per cent to Rs 37,710 crore at the same time.
“Although we are optimistic about our H2 performance, we will not be able to completely recover from the Q1 and Q2 fiascos,” said ACMA President Deepak Jain. “The sector has been set back by 3-4 years and it could take a at least two to three years to reach the peak levels of 2018-19,” he added. Jain said increasing commodity prices and raw material availability, especially those of semiconductors, are also proving to be major hurdles for the industry.