Interest rate hike and mounting inflation has put the brakes on the speeding auto financing industry in the country. Bad times be damned!
im O’Neill, Sandra Lawson and Roopa Purushothaman who had
concluded (in their paper titled, ‘The BRICs and Global Markets: Car, Crude and Capital’) that India’s market growth will be rapid with the potential for a threefold increase in car ownership over the next 10 years, might once again have to redo their work and radically change their conclusion. Well, the reason for the reconsideration being the rising raw material cost, slowing credit & signs of economic slowdown. All of these have cast a dark spell on the sector which now seems to be bearing the brunt of the economic slowdown, as well as interest rates that are rising by the day.
Certainly, the last five months have been a bit wary for auto loan consumers. The interest rates on auto loans have been hiked four times in a row. This has forced the banks to cut down on their retail lending by about 15-20%. Further, given the tight monetary stance by the central bank and its advice to the banks not to overstretch themselves and keep lending in consonance with their sources of funds (limit credit growth up to 20%), the banks’ margins have squeezed. Hence to maintain their profitability, they are left with no option but to revise their lending rates. With inflation (currently pegged at 12.44%) continuing to surge, a cut in the interest rate is unlikely in the near term and volumes are likely to remain under pressure. So much so that the current interest rates on auto loans which hover around 15.5% have had a direct impact on the buying behaviour of consumers. Sadly, these high interest rates (on the part of the financers) and lower buying sentiments (on the part of the consumers) will continue to negatively impact the demand for vehicles.
India is undergoing unprecedented change and auto financing is no exception. Earlier 80-85% of auto financing was undertaken by the banks and financial institutions, but with rising interest rates and higher disposable income, more people are opting for an outright purchase using their savings. This seems to be logical to some extent as auto loans are costlier today by 2-2.5% since the beginning of the year. This implies that an auto loan of Rs.5 lakhs for a three year period will get expensive by a further Rs.10,000. And as lenders still account for 70% of auto financing, a rise in interest rates, which subsequently implies a hike in EMI instalments further aggravates the problem, thus leaving the buyer confused! “The high interest rate is very negative for the auto industry,” asserts S. Ramnath, Analyst, SSKI to B&E. However interestingly even in such a scenario there is some good news. As for auto loans (for new car) fall, an increase in sales of second hand cars is bound to happen.
However, auto financiers are on their toes to increase their profit margins. While, a few have shut their financing operations, others are now approaching customers directly instead of routing through intermediaries. Certainly, the economic activity (the high interest rate & burgeoning inflation) has had a knock-down effect and unless these are resolved, the predicament will continue to haunt the auto industry. Screech... Heard those giant brakes?!
im O’Neill, Sandra Lawson and Roopa Purushothaman who had
concluded (in their paper titled, ‘The BRICs and Global Markets: Car, Crude and Capital’) that India’s market growth will be rapid with the potential for a threefold increase in car ownership over the next 10 years, might once again have to redo their work and radically change their conclusion. Well, the reason for the reconsideration being the rising raw material cost, slowing credit & signs of economic slowdown. All of these have cast a dark spell on the sector which now seems to be bearing the brunt of the economic slowdown, as well as interest rates that are rising by the day.Certainly, the last five months have been a bit wary for auto loan consumers. The interest rates on auto loans have been hiked four times in a row. This has forced the banks to cut down on their retail lending by about 15-20%. Further, given the tight monetary stance by the central bank and its advice to the banks not to overstretch themselves and keep lending in consonance with their sources of funds (limit credit growth up to 20%), the banks’ margins have squeezed. Hence to maintain their profitability, they are left with no option but to revise their lending rates. With inflation (currently pegged at 12.44%) continuing to surge, a cut in the interest rate is unlikely in the near term and volumes are likely to remain under pressure. So much so that the current interest rates on auto loans which hover around 15.5% have had a direct impact on the buying behaviour of consumers. Sadly, these high interest rates (on the part of the financers) and lower buying sentiments (on the part of the consumers) will continue to negatively impact the demand for vehicles.
India is undergoing unprecedented change and auto financing is no exception. Earlier 80-85% of auto financing was undertaken by the banks and financial institutions, but with rising interest rates and higher disposable income, more people are opting for an outright purchase using their savings. This seems to be logical to some extent as auto loans are costlier today by 2-2.5% since the beginning of the year. This implies that an auto loan of Rs.5 lakhs for a three year period will get expensive by a further Rs.10,000. And as lenders still account for 70% of auto financing, a rise in interest rates, which subsequently implies a hike in EMI instalments further aggravates the problem, thus leaving the buyer confused! “The high interest rate is very negative for the auto industry,” asserts S. Ramnath, Analyst, SSKI to B&E. However interestingly even in such a scenario there is some good news. As for auto loans (for new car) fall, an increase in sales of second hand cars is bound to happen.
However, auto financiers are on their toes to increase their profit margins. While, a few have shut their financing operations, others are now approaching customers directly instead of routing through intermediaries. Certainly, the economic activity (the high interest rate & burgeoning inflation) has had a knock-down effect and unless these are resolved, the predicament will continue to haunt the auto industry. Screech... Heard those giant brakes?!
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