Automotive is one of the core sectors of the Indian economy and, to a great extent, serves as a bellwether for its current state. An ominous fall in commercial-vehicle (CV) sales foretold impending economic challenges in both 2012 and 2019, while a steep rise in passenger-vehicle (PV) and two-wheeler (2W) sales was a harbinger of good economic news in 2010.
The manufacture of transport equipment accounts for 10 to 12 percent of the gross value added (GVA) within India’s manufacturing sector.
Any decline in that area significantly hurts India’s economic outcomes. Employment is also hard hit when vehicle sales fall, since the automotive sector provides 37 million direct and indirect jobs…