India’s Automotive Future: Ready or Not?

As the world moves towards a new normal, AI-enabled technologies and a
digitally savvy workforce will be vital in making industry players future-ready.

The last year was one of unprecedented headwinds for the automotive sector globally. In India, the situation in 2020 was worsened by the fact that the sector had already suffered a sales slowdown in 2019 before COVID-19 struck.

Moreover, supply chain disruptions and the nationwide lockdown led to a changed equation between how people perceived mobility. As job losses, salary cuts and furloughs hit hard, the steep drop in discretionary spends in 2020 meant customers postponed the purchase of new vehicles. With people also minimising the use of public transport and shared rides, the trend was to repair current vehicles or opt for used or preowned cars. This presented an opportunity for second-hand car dealers to drive higher sales, at least in the short term.

Shift towards Digital

It was against these challenging circumstances that automakers, OEMs and vehicle dealers discovered the significance of digital tools in sustaining BCPs (business continuity plans) during the lockdown and in keeping sales moving when lockdown restrictions were eased. Although the pandemic is no longer at its peak, automotive players realise…