India’s auto parts makers recorded a 34.6% decline in revenue in the fiscal first half from a year earlier as production came to a halt due to the nationwide lockdown, showed data issued on Wednesday by the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (Acma).
The sector, however, reported a swift turnaround in the second and third quarters as automobile production improved to record levels before the festive season.
Revenue in the six months ended September 30 fell to Rs1.19 lakh crore from Rs1.82 lakh crore a year earlier, according to Acma.
Component imports declined too—probably as a result of the Union government’s push for automakers to use locally-made parts. In the fiscal first half, component exports fell by 23.6% to Rs39,003 crore, while imports also dropped by 32.7% to Rs37,710 crore. The recently-announced PLI scheme might help the sector maintain the export surplus status in the coming years, analysts said. According to Deepak Jain, president of Acma, the component industry’s performance has improved manifold after the lockdown measures were lifted and the industry expects significant recovery in demand in the next fiscal year.