Auto Sector Slow Down: Finance Minister blamed millennials for preferring Ola, Uber

Guwahati: At a time when the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) reported that automobile sales in India have witnessed their worst-ever drop in August this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday blamed BS6 emission norms and mindsets of millennial for giving more preferences to private taxis like Ola, Uber for the state of the industry.

As per reports, the Union Minister was quoted saying "Automobile industry is now affected by BS6 and the mindsets of millennials, who now prefer to have Ola or Uber rather than committing to buying an automobile.”

She also mentioned that the automotive industry “had its good times two years ago” and that several external factors have led to its slowdown.

It was recorded as the steepest fall in overall vehicle sales in the country since SIAM started recording wholesale vehicle sales data in 1997-98. Some studies show that millennials do not want to commit to an equated monthly installment to buy a vehicle, and prefer Ola, Uber and metro services, Sitharaman said.

The finance minister also said that she would not comment on what would be considered at the GST Council meeting on 20 September. The auto sector has demanded a GST rate cut and the GST Council has to decide on that, she said.

According to SIAM, all vehicle categories witnessed a sharp decline in sales during the month and the industry is hoping for change in fortunes after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s attempts to ease their concerns.

SIAM said passenger car sales in August were also the worst ever. Last month, domestic car sales were down 41.09 percent at 1,15,957 units against 1,96,847 units in August 2018.

The fall in passenger vehicle sales in August was the tenth consecutive month of decline. In fact, all vehicle categories witnessed a decline in sales during the month. In the PV segment, market leader Maruti Suzuki India posted 36.14 percent decline in its August sales, at 93,173 units.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) also witnessed 16.58 percent decrease at 38,205 units, while Mahindra & Mahindra posted a fall of 31.58 percent at 13,504 units during the month.

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