Distress Call

In a year of two halves, the domestic automobile industry that found itself in a deep rut in second half of 2018, stares at the possibility of the negativity spilling over in the new year.

Sale of passenger vehicles are estimated to have declined by nearly 2 per cent in the second half of 2018, undermining the high 13.3 per cent growth that was registered in first six months. Sales declined for three consecutive months in July, August and September, stabilising briefly in October only to decline again in November. All time high discounts and incentives to liquidate stocks in the last month of the year have helped prop numbers in December, but the growth is still a muted under 2.5 per cent over previous year.

The slowdown has impacted projections for