The recent economic slowdown has taken a telling toll on the automobile sector as car assembling plants are facing layoffs, shutdowns and dips in sales. According to fresh data on car sales in the first five months of the ongoing fiscal year, sales have slumped by around 35-75 percent while a tractor assembling plant will remain closed from December 11 till January 3, 2020 in the wake of fall in tractors sale by 48 per cent to 8,223 units. Besides this full three-week closure, tractor plants have registered three non-production days each week in November. In December, there will be only eight working days, which mean fewer wages for workers. On average, companies were functional eight to 12 days in November. They worked less than two weeks in September and October too. Each automobile company has swallowed unsold inventory. Some companies have tried to ward off the pressure by offering discount and different waivers without much success. Similar trends are being witnessed in sales of trucks, rickshaws and motorcycles. The situation will remain the same unless prices are rationalised and auto financing made soft. The slump in the automobile sector should not be seen in isolation as the slowdown has affected related sectors as well. Car dealers have already warned of shutting down businesses if the government did not consider their demands. The sector blames the hefty excise duty on car engines, devaluation of rupee and additional customs duties on imported parts and raw material resulting, in an overnight price hike and ensuing contracted sales. Media reports are full of stories of unsold inventory of over 3,000 vehicles. The government will have to manage this crisis to strengthen the economy and save millions of jobs. The government has worked on laying excellent road networks across the country. The best utilization of these roads lies in easy access to automobiles. With traffic mobilised, and cities connected to motorways, the economy goes up, people get jobs and their lifestyle improves. In big cities, one can see bumper to bumper traffic, which shows mass mobilisation. Disruption in the flow of automobile supply will affect the whole eco system. A well-balanced policy is required to the keep the automobile sector afloat. *