As per the study, in ‘very high impact’ districts, the level of risk is considerably different for the two segments, with half of passenger vehicle sales and a third of two-wheeler sales expected to be impacted. “On the brighter side, 44 per cent and 32 per cent of the market for two-wheelers and passenger vehicles, respectively, lies in ‘very low to moderate’ risk districts, where normalcy is likely to return relatively more quickly, although in a phased manner,” the study said.

“In these districts as well, ther will be change in customer behaviour, and the impact of Covid-19 on consumer incomes and finance penetration. Given this, automobile manufacturers and vehicle financiers need to tactically target low-to-moderately impacted districts and also appropriately retune their strategies in high-to-very high impact districts to minimise the impact on their sales performance.”

Hemal N Thakkar, Associate Director, CRISIL Research, said: “Players in the industry will have to devise a strategy after carefully considering their product portfolios, sales distribution by district and dealership presence - all of which are key to pushing volumes in this scenario. Prioritisation of districts on the basis of opportunities and risks will be the new matrix to work on.”