L&T Finance Predicts Festive Auto Demand Surge, Anticipates Microfinance Sector Rebound

L&T Finance Ltd. on Wednesday said it is expecting a decent uptick in automobile demand during the festive season on the back of good monsoon and is hopeful of a reasonable improvement in the microfinance segment in the second half of the current fiscal.

"Of late, there are reports that the auto industry is seeing some slowdown, but I am very hopeful that on the back of good monsoon that we see, I think during the festive period, we will see a decent uptick both in terms of two-wheelers as well as four-wheelers,' L&T Finance Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sudipta Roy told PTI.

Speaking on the sideline of the three-day Global Fintech Festival, Roy said in terms of loan disbursements, overall, the two-wheeler segment is doing very well, adding that, "post Diwali, the demand has been relatively robust. We have been seeing ... disbursements going somewhere between 15% to 20% depending upon the region."

Stating that the microfinance industry is currently going through a little bit of adjustment time frame that is more to do with some sort of the disruption during the elections in terms of the social income flows which has resumed right now.

"It was also because of the tremendous heat wave that was there during the May and June period... I do believe that on the back of good monsoons, in the second half of fiscal 2025 we should see a reasonable improvement in the outlook towards microfinance," Roy said.