The Indian automobile sector is going through one of the worst slowdowns for the past 3 decades with the sales of both 2 and 4-wheelers falling down to double digits. The Modi-led government and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have been targeted from all quarters for the lackluster measures to revive the auto sector.
But the icing on the cake was Nirmala Sitharaman’s yesterday’s statement. She said that the change in the mindset of ‘millennials’ who are now preferring Ola, Uber and metro instead of buying cars on EMI basis is one of the reasons behind the automobile industry slowdown.
Needless to say, netizens across the country are taking to social media and mocking Nirmala’s statement, by trending the hashtag “BoycottMillennials”. “Millennials have stopped cooking at home because of Zomato and Swiggy,” said one Twitter user. Another troll tweeted a meme with Baba Ramdev doing yoga and wrote, “Oxygen levels are dipping down since millennials are breathing Oxygen in the mornings.”
India’s automobile industry employs nearly 3 crore employees, and lakhs of jobs are at stake due to the slowdown. On the other hand, India’s leading truck manufacturer Ashok Leyland has reported a 70 percent drop in sales in August. Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest 2-wheeler maker, reported a 20 percent drop last month. Maruti Suzuki posted a 34 percent drop in sales.