Rajan Wadhera, President, SIAM in a brief statement issued to the Media highlighted that many automakers in India import about 10% of their raw materials from China. The disruption in availability of these parts are likely to critically hamper production across all segments, namely Passenger Vehicles (PV), Commercial Vehicles (CV), Three-Wheelers (3W), Two-Wheelers (2W) and gravely affecting Electric Vehicles (EVs).
Wadhera further emphasized that with anticipation of the Chinese New Year, Indian Auto Industry had maintained inventory in beginning of the year, but with the current lockdown in China, supply for BSVI vehicles is likely to get impacted.
Manufacturers are exploring alternatives to fulfil their supply chain demands but that would also take a substantial amount of time to reach stable production scale as these components would need regulatory testing, reiterated Wadhera.
Wadhera mentioned that SIAM has been in touch with the Government of India with specific recommendations on behalf of the Auto Industry and in this regard, Industry is particularly thankful to the Government for issuing a notification of Force Majeure for Corona virus and also 24x7 clearance of shipments at all customs formations.