Exports of automobiles and auto parts from India continued to plunge in May, posting a sharp decline of 73 per cent and 65.5 per cent, respectively, as demand in major markets such as the US, Mexico, the EU and Japan, plummeted and domestic production activities remained low due to Covid-19 restrictions, industry estimates show.

“Supply chains broke down due to mobility restrictions and a wave of postponement of foreign orders in the sector led to such a massive drop in exports. Out of 33 engineering panels, 28 panels recorded negative growth in exports during May 2020 compared to May 2019,” said Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India Chairman Ravi Sehgal.

In May 2020, exports of automobiles, including motor vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers, dropped 73 per cent to $ 230 million from $852.3 million in May 2019, as per an EEPC analysis.

Exports of automobiles to the US during the month suffered an annualised erosion of 98 per cent at $ 1.37 million and 65 per cent to Mexico at $42.5 million, according to an EEPC India analysis. Both are key markets for India.

In April-May 2020, the export of automobiles dropped by 83 per cent to $281 million from $ 1.63 billion in April-May 2019-20.

Exports of auto components, too, suffered a major setback in May, with key markets, including the US, Mexico, Germany and Japan reporting falls ranging between 34 per cent and 68 per cent.

Total exports of auto components and parts recorded a 65.5 per cent fall in May to $163.2 million, as per data. The sector dipped by 77.8 per cent to $196.3 million in April-May 2019-20.

The US remained the top importer of auto components from India in April -May 2020 with a share of 22.33 per cent. It is followed by Turkey, Germany, Japan and Mexico with respective shares of 8.30 per cent, 6.89 per cent, 4.34 per cent and 3.79 per cent.

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