Coronavirus Lockdown News

MG Subscribe program means cars from the brand are now available on subscription in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune apart from the national capital region.

The tracks in Greater and Chennai have resumed operations after staying shut for the last 3 months owing to the Coronavirus lockdown.

Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, is seeking up to 24 million barrels of U.S. crude for delivery over the fourth quarter this year and the first quarter of 2021, two tender documents seen by Reuters showed on Monday.

Fuel demand massively dropped in April after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced complete lockdown across the country to contain the spread the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister urged everyone to break the chain of the COVID-19 by staying at home, which resulted in a temporary closure of factories, offices, air travel suspension and more. With nationwide lockdown coming into effect, most of the vehicles were off roads that led to decreased demand for fuel. Within weeks of lockdown, the oil firms saw record low fuel sales across the country. Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country's largest oil firm told PTI that the demand for the fuel might return with the resumption of economic activities.

Volkswagen is considering more cost cuts to help cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesman for the German automaker said.

The Indian auto component sector is likely to see massive job cuts if the sector continues to face business difficulties because of the reduced demand owing to coronavirus pandemic. According to PTI, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) stated that the sector could witness huge job losses due to lack of demand caused by the pandemic. The industry body also mentioned that the auto component manufacturers would be forced to cut down the workforce in a bid to survive with muted demands and excess capacities in place. Moreover, SIAM has already predicted an annual downturn of 35 to 40 per cent because of the COVID-19 crisis.

The automobile sector is one of the most affected industries due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The sector was already witnessing a slow demand from the market which further deteriorated due to the COVID-19. Nevertheless, the automobile sector is gradually moving towards the new normal wherein several manufacturers have resumed operations at their respective plants across the country. However, the two-wheeler sales are expected to remain in the slow lane throughout this fiscal, according to HMSI Director Sales and Marketing Yadvinder Singh Guleria. As per the report from PTI, the HMSI senior official told said the coronavirus lockdown having already taken its toll on dispatches in the first quarter, and it would continue to affect the two-wheeler sales this fiscal.

The highly awaited scrappage policy and lowering of GST rates could play an essential role in reviving the commercial vehicle sector, which has been facing a constant downward trend for quite some time now. According to a top Ashok Leyland official, the GST rate cut and the scrappage policy will be beneficial in reviving the Indian CV space. As per the report from PTI, the firm expects the situation to improve gradually during the current fiscal that has been affected by the current downturn in the industry and coronavirus pandemic.