'Auto production may end FY13 with 6% growth'

The recovery in the production is expected to come on the back of festival season and a host of new launches by auto companies, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its latest report.

"We expect automobile production to grow by 5.8 per cent the current fiscal. Yet, this will be considerably lower than 13.8 per cent recorded in the previous fiscal."

The RBI's continued hawkish stance on key policy rates and rising oil prices along with deceleration in consumer demand impacted the auto production in the five months of the fiscal as it grew by a muted 4.1 per cent, the report said.

According to CMIE, the two-and three-wheeler industry, which accounts for almost three-fourths of total production, is expected to grow by a mere 5.9 per cent during the fiscal, impacting the overall industry's growth.

"However, driven by a likely 32.7 per cent growth in the multi-utility vehicle segment, passengers cars and vans, the segment is expected to record a slightly faster 6.2 per cent growth," the city-based economic think tank said.

Passenger car and van production dropped by 2.4 per cent in the April-August period, the report said, adding however the festival season, new launches and resumption in production at the Maruti's Manesar plant

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