Current year for automobile industry to be tumultous: MRF Ltd

: Tyre-manufacturer MRF Ltd has said the current year would be a tumultous one for the automobile industry, especially in transition towards BS-VI fuel norms from BS-IV, according to a top official of the company.

"The uncertainity is further compounded by lower consumer sentiments resulting in inventory build-up, and all original equipment manufacturers aligning production in line with demand," MRF Ltd chairman and managing director K M Mammen said in the company's annual report.

The country continues to be one of the preferred economies in the world in terms of investment and growth, and that the short-term hiccups caused in the automobile industry would have to be factored in by tyre-makers, he said.

Stating that the new union budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was predicting that the country would be a USD-five trillion economy by 2025, he said there have been substantial allocations made in infrastructure which should help the road transport sector.

"This should augur well for the tyre industry",he said.

He welcomed the incentives offered for the electric vehicle segments, which is the sunrise industry and would have a long-term impact.

He said the industry would in the near future face challenges due to the paucity of the credit funds, which have been partly addressed in the budget.

The next six months would see a volatile auto sector on account of the shift to BS-VI emission norms. The tyre industry would have to align its production with this requirement, he said.