India last year bucked the decade’s first declining trend in global auto output, logging the fastest pace of expansion among top ten production hubs, although sales locally turned a bit soft because of changes to insurance rules and increase in fuel prices through the festive season. Production growth of 8% for the Indian automotive industry has come at a time when global automobile production itself declined for the first time in a decade, by 1.1% to about 95.6 million units. To be sure, a significant increase in insurance expenses, fuel costs and liquidity tightening after the IL&FS crisis affected demand locally in the second half of the year. Industry insiders are confident, however, that growth will revive in FY20, with customers advancing purchases ahead of the anticipated price increases on account of implementation of BS VI emission standards from April 1, 2020.

(ET Auto)