Coronavirus is taking down industries one by one. The automobile industry was already struggling and its had a major setback due to the spread of coronavirus. China imports 27% of automobile parts and it has suspended shipping of the parts due to the outbreak of the coronavirus from 28th February until further notice.

In 2019, the sales of automobiles dropped by 13.5% and in 2020 the growth rate was at 8.3%. Production of BS 4 vehicles has stopped. Since customer drop-in has reduced drastically due to the lockdown, many dealers can’t sell the existing BS 4 vehicles before 1st April 2020. Auto companies are asking the supreme court to extend the date to 31 May 2020.

The Geneva Motor Show was canceled due to the massive spread of coronavirus. The Australian Grand Prix was also canceled due to McLaren’s withdrawal hours before the practice as one of its drivers was tested positive for coronavirus.

Almost 25,000 executives from leading automobile companies have asked their employees to work from home until further notice. Automakers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motors India, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, and Tata motors have upgraded the safety system for the employees by business travel restrictions, social distancing, thermal screening and suspension of biometric attendance.

In India, the highest reported cases are in Maharashtra, the automobile hub of India. It has affected the supply chain in India as the components of automobile parts are in shortage for all the segments, which includes, “passenger vehicles, two-wheeler, three-wheelers, and the commercial segment.”

The automobile industry contributes to 7% of India’s GDP. The entire Automobile sector in India is likely to face a revenue loss of Rs 50,000 crores due to the 21 day lockdown averaging around a loss of Rs 2,300 crores per day.

Since production is shut down for 10 days, the automobile industry is facing a lot of losses. Despite all this, many companies are still contributing their bit towards society.

MG Motors has donated 2 crores to the hospitals and towards essentials like gloves, masks, ventilators, medication, beds, and other requirements of the hospitals. Hyundai Motors India as a part of their CSR activity has ordered a COVID testing kit from South Korea for 25,000 patients.

TVS motors has contributed 30 crores towards the economic aid package. The money is funded by Srinivasan Services Trust (SST). This money will be used to provide masks to health care workers and police professionals, provide daily meals to police, health workers and municipal workers. It is also providing daily ration in Himachal Pradesh.

Maruti Suzuki India has entered into a partnership deal with AgVa healthcare, to produce 10,000 ventilators per month. Tata Trust has donated Rs 1500 crores to help the health care department in providing masks, ventilators, testing kits, beds and all other essentials to combat COVID 19.

Mahindra has decided to make the cheapest ventilators at a cost of Rs 7500. They have worked 48 hours non stop to design a Bag Valve Mask Ventilator prototype model. It is in the process of approval. Once the approval is given, the production will commence.

Coronavirus has taken the globe by storm, but the future of the automobile industry looks promising according to McKinsey’s report. India will emerge as the third-largest passenger vehicle market by 2021.

It took India 7 years to increase its production from 3 million to 4 million vehicles. But the next 5 years for India is expected to be a cakewalk as the 5 million mark would be accomplished sooner.

The Automotive mission plan of 2026 aims to triple industry revenues to $300 billion and expand exports to $80 billion. This would provide job opportunities for 60 million people in the industry directly and indirectly.

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