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There Is No Auto Slowdown In India, Claims Traders Body CAIT

The automobile industry is making hue and cry only to get a stimulus package from the government, says CAIT’s secretary general.

A pedestrian crosses a road between motorcyclists and auto-rickshaws in Surat, Gujarat, India. (Photographer: Karen Dias/Bloomberg)
A pedestrian crosses a road between motorcyclists and auto-rickshaws in Surat, Gujarat, India. (Photographer: Karen Dias/Bloomberg)

The Confederation of All India Traders on Tuesday said there is no auto slowdown in India and that the automobile industry is making hue and cry only to get a stimulus package from the government.

The automobile industry has been attributing the ten-month-long sales slump to several factors, including high Goods and Services Tax rates, farm distress, stagnant wages and liquidity constraints.

"There is no slowdown in the domestic automobile sector. They are saying this to get a package from the government," CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal told reporters in New Delhi.

Khandelwal claimed auto firms have received huge number of bookings for new car and bike launches, indicating that there is no slowdown in the auto sector.

He also demanded a ban on festive season sales being announced by online retail firms, saying that they are violating FDI norms for the e-commerce sector.

"If the government does not take action, we will approach the court," Khandelwal said, ading that these e-commerce companies are allowed to do only B2B business but they are indulging in big advertisement campaigns.

"These companies are not doing business, this is the business of valuation. They should give details of top 10 vendors in the last five years," he said. He also said interest rates are high in India and global firms get loans at cheap rates.