As expected, this Diwali did not bring much cheer to the Indian automobile companies. Blame it on the low consumer confidence stemming from economic uncertainties and the stringent financing of vehicles. Diwali (or Deepavali), or the 'Festival of Lights', is a prominent Hindu festival, where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within an individual and is celebrated on the new moon day. A lot of automobile companies had kept their fingers crossed on the Diwali week, but all their hopes were crushed, as the number of footfalls dwindled, and those having test drives postponing indefinitely their purchase plans. Though Hyundai Motors, Hero Honda and Maruti Suzuki, bucked the trend, their sales were below their expectations. Other automakers like Tata Motors, GM, Ford and Bajaj Auto are emerging as the biggest losers.

Discount offers, attractive finance options, free insurance and registration, gifts etc failed to entice the customers as the unchanged interest rate cut played spoilsport. The only cars which maintained their sales momentum include recently launched Toyota Corolla Altis, all-new third generation Honda City and Hyundai's premium hatchback-i10. It is widely believed that the automotive sales this year for the industry will be higher than the overall numbers registered last year, but this is likely to be lower than the projected numbers.

According to a dealer of a multinational automobile company, consumer demand is still very high, but sales have been abysmal, so the number of cars delivered would be less vis-à-vis last year.Another dealer of a multinational auto giant acknowledged the fact that people are postponing their purchase plans as they are panicked about the incessant job cuts in their companies.

According to a senior official of Hyundai India, it would take about four-five months for the auto sales numbers to get into a much faster growth pace. He also stated that after October and November, the sales volumes are likely to come down in December as people wait for New Year.According to a Honda Siel dealer, the cumulative impact of higher interest rates, subdued market sentiment and cautious approach of buyers are among key reasons for this current sentiment. The automotive industry had anticipated overall growth of about 12 per cent during 2008 and first nine months numbers shows that it is likely to be about 6-6.5 per cent.

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