Auto industry hopes for a smooth ride in new year after a bumpy 2021

NEW DELHI: The Indian automotive industry is driving into 2022 with a positive mindset in its quest to reach the pre-pandemic levels of sales volume, having built a solid foundation in 2021 amid semiconductor shortage hampering production. With demand still buoyant in the passenger vehicle segment despite challenges of commodity price increases, many automobile manufacturers are upbeat to embrace new technologies, specially in the electric mobility space which is expected to witness a slew of launches in both four- and twowheeler categories in the coming year.

Although the Omicron variant of Covid is still a concern for many automakers, they feel that the learnings from the past two years will come handy in carrying out business, having adopted digitisation in large scale, even if there were to be a third wave.

In an interaction with PTI, Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava expressed hope that 2022 would pan out to be better for the industry as compared to 2021.

“This year, we had a lot of production loss due to shortage of semiconductors. I think the situation will be much better in 2022,” he said, adding the economy is going to grow faster, which is again a positive factor.

“So all these put together, except for the uncertainty related to the Omicron variant, I think it indicates that 2022 would be a much better year,” he stated. While acknowledging that 2021 has turned out to be a very challenging year for the industry, SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon also expressed hope for a better churn in the new year.