Coronavirus Crisis: Vehicle Production May Be Critically Hampered, Says Industry Body SIAM

Vehicle production across all categories is likely to be critically hampered due to the coronavirus outbreak in China as many automakers in India import about 10 per cent of their raw materials from the neighbouring nation, auto industry body SIAM or Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said on Wednesday.

India's auto industry had already maintained an inventory in the beginning of the year in anticipation of the Chinese New Year holiday but with the current lockdown in China, the supply for BS-VI vehicles is likely to get impacted, SIAM president Ranjan Wadhera said in a statement.

The auto industry body said disruption in the availability of these parts is likely to critically hamper production across all segments - passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers - and is gravely affecting electric vehicles.

"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," he added.

SIAM has been in touch with the government with specific recommendations on behalf of the auto industry, he added.