Aspirational India fuels auto loan surge as private consumption rises

New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) As private consumption rises across the country, there has been a surge in auto loans for car ownership as people from tier 2, 3 cities and beyond opt for longer-tenure financing options to afford latest vehicles.

As per reports, auto companies like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra and Tata Motors feel finance penetration to rise to up to 84 per cent this year from 75 per cent in the pre-pandemic era.

A leading digital marketing agency, Techmagnate, recently revealed significant shifts in auto finance-related search queries, like an increased focus on affordability and transparency, demand for alternative financing solutions, interest in electric vehicle financing and personalised and streamlined experiences.

The consumers in the country are engaging in informed auto finance decisions by conducting broader searches, using general terms like "car loan interest rates"or "auto loan eligibility”.

About 80 per cent of car purchases in the country are financed through bank loans or non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

As per Jato Dynamics data, the aspirational India is now driving the auto loan industry.

A continued momentum in discretionary spending of consumers, coupled with favourable price effect, helped private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) pick up by 12.4 per cent in India in the April-June quarter this fiscal, as against 8.1 per cent in Q1 FY24, according to the Bank of Baroda (BoB) report.From two-wheeler sales to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), the overall consumption is surging. The total production of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers and quadricycle reached 24,37,138 units in July.

Passenger vehicles sales were 3,41,510, three-wheeler sales were 59,073 units and two-wheeler sales reached 14,41,694 units.Two-wheeler segment posted a decent growth of 12.5 per cent in July compared to the same month last year, asper SIAM data.