Seeing green shoots in some segments: Tata Motors

"We are seeing green shoots in some segments of the auto industry, and I do hope that it heralds the dawn of a new era," he said while speaking at the 60th ACMA Annual Session, which was held virtually.

"However, I remain cautious about the prospect of its long-term sustenance in the absence of an overall economic recovery. Plus, the challenges from Covid-19 are continuing, which can possibly create more intermittent disruptions."

Besides, he said: "Times like this remind us that you are a unique fraternity; if any one of you falls, OEM production is stopped and it further affects hundreds of you. If any of our competitors fail, it impacts hundreds of you and so on, as the spiralling circle of impact continues."

Furthermore, Butschek acknowledged the need for some "demand impetus to trigger revival". "I think we have a fantastic opportunity to work together, build scale and benefit from the changes expected in the global supply chains."

"This will help our industry become a more valued partner in fulfilling India's aspirations for scale, which helps attract investments and create employment," he said.

"In addition, we must stretch beyond products and build capabilities to localise design, engineering content, technology, and processes etc."

According to Butschek, the industry's singular intent must be to emerge stronger from the crisis and "we can do so only collectively".

"Yes, our industry has been scarred, but our best medicine will be a quick return of volumes and revenues to fuel our working capital so that we heal and rebound to our full market potential," he added.

"But for that, we must be agile to stretch more and revitalise faster."