Car launches affected in India by COVID-19

The COVID-19 epidemic raised a number of challenges for the automotive industry. Globally, governments are planning for the broader spread of the virus. According to the KPMG report, 80% of the automobile and related businesses say that coronavirus would have a significant effect on their 2020 revenues. 78% of businesses do not have sufficient staff to operate a full manufacturing line.

Due to the exponential growth of COVID-19, the government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown on March 24, 2020. The lockdown imposed in many states has made customer and dealer staff movement come to a halt. Many automobile companies have postponed the launch of their new cars due to this pandemic.

Following is the list of cars that were to be launched in the month of March and April:

Hyundai Tucson Facelift

Hyundai unveiled the Tucson facelift at the Auto Expo 2020 held in February and it was scheduled to be launched in March this year. However, the launch has now been moved ahead in the face of the concerns arising from the outbreak of COVID-19. Hyundai has yet to reveal a new launch date to debut its top-end SUV in the Indian market.

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Hyundai Verna Facelift

Hyundai Verna Facelift also made its debut at the Auto Expo 2020, like Tucson, which was expected to be launched in March, but due to the pandemic, the launch has now been postponed.

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Mercedes-Benz EQC

The Mercedes-Benz EQC was unveiled in January 2020 followed by an appearance at the Auto Expo in February. The company was planning to launch the EV in India in April. However, considering the current scenario, Mercedes-Benz would have to delay the launch of the EQC in India.

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Audi e-Tron

Audi after it’s unveiling in early 2019, was looking forward to launching its new SUV in India which earlier was supposed to get launched by the end of 2019 but got pushed to April 2020. The company now has decided to put the launch on hold till the lockdown ends.

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New Generation Honda City

The fifth-generation Honda City was expected to be launched in India in mid-March 2020. The country-wide shutdown further delayed the arrival of the next-generation city sedan. No news on the precise date of launch yet.

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Honda WR-V Facelift

Honda Cars unveiled the new WR-V facelift at the beginning of March, thereafter, the launch was expected in the month of April which is now pushed to whenever the situation from the pandemic gets better.

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Tata HBX

After the unveiling at Auto Expo 2020, the new Tata HBX was all set to get launched in April 2020 but due to the COVID-19 threat, the launch is now postponed to FY2021.

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Renault Duster 1.3 TCe Petrol

Renault Duster 1.3 TCe petrol was introduced at the 2020 Auto Expo as an alternative to Duster diesel, which has now been withdrawn. It was scheduled to be released in India in mid-March, but the launch was postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

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Mahindra XUV300 Sportz Edition

Mahindra XUV300 Sportz Version was first shown at the 2020 Auto Expo. It was supposed to be released in April 2020, but the launch could now be postponed by a few weeks.

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Skoda Rapid 1.0 TSI

Skoda Rapid 1.0 TSI was unveiled at this year’s Auto-Expo, scheduling their launch date to be held in April 2020, but is now being delayed due to a complete lockdown until further details of the launch have been revealed.

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Skoda Karoq

In addition to the Rapid 1.0, Karoq SUV was also seen at the 2020 Auto Expo and the launch of Skoda Karoq India was scheduled to take place in April. We expect Skoda to launch the SUV once the lockout is finished.

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Maruti Suzuki S-Cross Petrol

Maruti Suzuki S-Cross petrol was scheduled to launch in April 2020, but the outbreak of COVID-19 affected the schedule. The automaker unveiled a crossover at the 2020 Auto Expo sparking rumours regarding the arrival of the petrol version. It is doubtful that the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross would be released in India anytime soon during the present scenario.