The turnover of India’s automotive component industry stood at Rs 1.96 lakh crore ($ 26.6 billion) for the period April 2021 to September 2021, registering a growth of 65% over the first half of the previous year, according to the findings of Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). The turnover data represents the entire supplies from the auto component industry (ACMA members and non-members) to the on-road and off-road vehicle manufacturers and the aftermarket in India as well as exports. This also includes component supplies captive to the OEMs and by the unorganised and smaller players.

Vinnie Mehta, Director General, ACMA, commented, “Despite the slow offtake in vehicles sales due to supply side issues, especially in the first quarter, the auto component industry demonstrated a remarkable turn-around in the first-half of FY 2021-22. With significant growth in all segments – supply to OEMs, exports as also the aftermarket, the component industry grew to Rs 1.96 lakh crore ($ 26.6 billion) registering 65% growth. Exports grew by 76% to Rs 68.7 lakh crore ($ 9.3 billion) while imports grew by 71% to Rs 64.3 lakh crore ($ 8.7 billion) leading to trade surplus of $ 600 million. The Aftermarket, estimated at Rs 38,895 crore, also witnessed a steady growth of 25%. Component sales to OEMs in the domestic market grew by 76% to Rs 1.53 lakh crore.”

Sunjay Kapur, President, ACMA, added, “Despite resurgence of demand for vehicles, supply-side issues of availability of semiconductors, increasing input costs, rising logistics costs and availability of containers, among others, continue to hamper recovery in the automotive sector. The auto component industry, in this backdrop, displayed remarkable resilience. Increased value-addition to meet regulatory compliance, fast recovery in external markets and traction in the domestic aftermarket market have contributed to the growth of the sector in the first-half of FY 2021-22.

Going forward, while the performance of the vehicle industry during the festive season has not been on expected lines, however there are indications that the vehicle demand will improve in the coming months. “This, together with the increased focus by the auto industry on deep-localisation and the recent announcements by the of PLI schemes by the government on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) batteries and auto & auto components will facilitate the creation of a state-of-the-art automotive value chain and developing India into an attractive alternative source of high-end auto components,” said Kapur.

Elaborating on the outlook for the near to mid-term future, he stated, “According to a recent survey of ACMA leadership, despite concerns of another wave of pandemic, the industry is cautiously optimistic about the prospects of the Indian economy and the automotive sector for FY2021-22. Auto component manufacturers have now, by and large, recovered and the investment cycle has also commenced. On the subject of auto component industry preparing to be future-ready, 60% of the respondents mentioned that they were already equipped to be part of the EV supply chain, while the rest would be ready in the next two-odd years.”

Highlights of H1 2021-22 performance: