Once
the 21-day lockdown is lifted, which may happen in phases, those who have been
contemplating purchasing a car may actually do it, said analysts.
Thanks
to social distancing norms and rising hygiene awareness, daily commuters may
ditch public transport and shared mobility solutions like Ola and Uber. Many
are likely to prefer the confines of a car over roughing it up in crowded
public transport services such as a metro, local sub-urban trains and buses,
they said.

Automakers
are bracing for a rough ride ahead. Auto sales, already in reverse gear in
India owing to tepid sentiments and a slowing economy, got dented badly in
March, with sales at top companies declining by more than 64 per cent over the
year-ago period.
But
amid the lockdown, announced by the government to contain the spread of the
coronavirus disease (Covid-19), there is a silver lining. Once the 21-day
lockdown is lifted, which may happen in phases, those who have been
contemplating purchasing a car may actually do it, said analysts.
Thanks
to social distancing norms and rising hygiene awareness, daily commuters may
ditch public transport and shared mobility solutions like Ola and Uber. Many
are likely to prefer the confines of a car over roughing it up in crowded
public transport services such as a metro, local sub-urban trains and buses,
they said.
The trend may particularly
boost entry-level and compact cars in the sub-Rs 10 lakh category.
“While it’s a dark picture
right now, there is a silver lining. You will see some pent-up demand,
especially for entry-level cars. It’s an opportunity for all the automakers
that play in the segment to gear up for it,” says Rajeev Pratap Singh, auto
sector head at Deloitte.
Many people who do not have
a car are already actively considering buying one and with this, used cars will
also get a boost, he added.
“The risk of shared
transport is very high and there will be a dip in demand for such services and
shared mobility platforms,” said Singh.
Rahul Mishra, principal and
lead - automotive at Kearney, agrees.
“The whole social
distancing that we are practising is going to fundamentally alter some of the
traditional ways of doing things. One such thing could be a preference for
private mode of transport -- owning a vehicle instead of using shared public
transport,” said Mishra.
Millennials, who never
thought of investing in cars as they preferred an Ola or Uber, may now think of
owning a car. He also felt choices may be skewed towards small and compact
cars.
Automakers, that have their
hands full dealing with the current crisis, are wary of any forecasts.
R C Bhargava, chairman at
car market leader Maruti Suzuki India, said: “We will have to see how the
demand pans out after the lockdown is lifted. With no prior experience, saying
anything will be highly speculative.”
A top executive at another
passenger vehicles firm echoed similar sentiments.
“At this point, making any
such prediction on a trend will be premature. We would rather do our bit by
helping our channel and vendor partners. I am not sure if car purchase will top
the priority of an average salaried class under the current
circumstances.”
Deloitte’s Singh said the
challenge for automakers will be to manage the customer wisely. They will need
to identify those who are looking to buy an additional car for the family.
Given that the liquidity crunch will remain in the foreseeable future,
companies will have to offer retail finance, he said.
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