Utkarsh Parasrampuria, a Mumbai jewelry designer, has waited about three months to receive his new Volkswagen AG Polo. He’s still not sure when it will arrive.
“This just goes on and on,” said Parasrampuria, 25, who put down a deposit for his 580,000-rupee ($12,400) Polo in May. “I’m seriously considering getting a different car now.”
Suzuki Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co., the two biggest carmakers in India, have also introduced waiting lists on some models as a dearth of batteries, engine castings and other parts forces automakers to curb production in Asia’s third-largest automotive market. Tata Motors Ltd. is importing tires from China after local component suppliers failed to anticipate a surge of more than 30 percent in Indian car sales this year.
“At least for the next three to four months, the problems won’t get resolved,” said Pawan Goenka, head of the Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers and president at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., the nation’s largest sport-utility maker.
Mahindra made 12 percent fewer vehicles than it wanted to in the quarter ended June because of the parts shortage, Goenka said. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the country’s largest carmaker, has waiting lists of as much as a month for its Swift and Dzire models. Hero Honda Motors Ltd., the largest motorcycle maker, couldn’t make as many as 80,000 motorbikes in the second quarter, said Anil Dua, the company’s marketing head.
Consumption Boom
The shortage of parts and a consumption boom stoked by a doubling of per-capita income over the past eight years mean that Indian car buyers face industrywide waiting lists for the first time in more than a decade. Makers of steering wheels, bumpers and headlamps are rushing to boost production and build plants to meet the surge in demand.
“The partsmakers were caught by surprise,” said Deepesh Rathore, India managing director at IHS Automotive. “The loss of sales will lead to a loss of profit for automakers.”
Maruti Suzuki has asked suppliers to boost investments after facing shortages of bumpers, tires and batteries, Chief Executive Officer Shinzo Nakanishi said. Tata began buying Chinese tires as Indian suppliers couldn’t meet its needs, said Debasis Ray, a spokesman for the Mumbai-based maker of trucks and $2,500 Nano cars.
