India’s luxury car market shrank by as much as a quarter in the first half of this year, industry executives said, as a slowdown in economic growth and uncertainty around elections made buyers cautious. Manufacturers such as segment leader Mercedes-Benz and Audi expect the situation to improve in the coming months, though they also warn about risks such as continuing weakness in the economy, a high GST rate and increased import costs. Industry executives also fear the recent government move that increases the tax outgo of people earning more than Rs 2 crore to dampen the sentiment of their target customers. Between 15,000 and 17,000 luxury cars were sold in the first six months of 2019, compared with 20,000 units a year earlier, estimates of five people with knowledge of industry sales showed. Industry players fear the market is staring at its biggest decline in growth rates in a decade. Some are also worried about the impact of India’s shift from Bharat Stage IV emission standards to BS-VI, as the increased cost associated with the technology change could discourage more buyers.