Finance Minister Blames Millennial Mindset Of Preferring Ola, Uber For Auto Sector Slowdown

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday, blamed the mindset of Indian millennials who prefer cab services or a Metro over there own vehicle.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman: Automobile industry is now affected by BS6 and the mindsets of millennial, who now prefer to have Ola or Uber rather than committing to buying an automobile pic.twitter.com/6KEecyopH3

— ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2019

Sitharaman said that the automobile sector is facing several issues, one of which is the change in emission norms to Bharat Stage (BS) VI from 2020.

“Some studies do tell us that mindset of millennials, who are now preferring not to commit an EMI for buying an automobile, instead prefer to take Ola, Uber, everything else, or take the metro. A whole lot of factors are influencing automobile sector. We are trying to solve the problem for them,” Live Mint quoted her saying.

Sitharaman also proposed a cut in GST on automobiles which is presently at 28 per cent. Automobile manufacturers have consistently demanded a reduction in the GST on vehicles to boost car sales.

The remarks came in the backdrop of Auto Sector slowdown for 10 consecutive months due to which thousands of employees lost their jobs have and lakhs of employees are fearing their way out.

The Logical Indian Asks

Finance minister’s statement is a controversial one, as Ola and Uber are mostly limited to metros, but the auto sales across the nation are affected. The Logical Indian asks, why are the vehicles sales down in small towns and rural areas?

The data by the Indian Brand Equity Foundation suggests that the share of passenger cars contribute to only 13 per cent of the total auto sales. As per a Business Standard report, commercial vehicle sales of country’s top four manufacturers – Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher and Mahindra and Mahindra – were down by 59.5 per for August. If the taxi services are to be blamed for the auto sector slow down, then why were the commercial vehicle sales down?

FM Faces Flak For Statement

Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel took a jibe at the Finance Minister’s statement saying OLA and Uber are offering their services in the state too and yet the automobile sector is growing there.

आदरणीया वित्त मंत्री जी,

हमारे छत्तीसगढ़ में ओला और ऊबर दोनों अपनी सेवाएं दे रहे हैं फिर भी ऑटोमोबाइल सेक्टर में उछाल आया है।

सवाल देश की अर्थव्यवस्था से जुड़ा हुआ है इसलिए आग्रह है कि आप एक बार छत्तीसगढ़ के आर्थिक विकास के मॉडल का अध्ययन कर लें।

यहां तो रोज़गार भी बढ़ा है। https://t.co/GUCd2oLfBS pic.twitter.com/FDU60mKDPR

— Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) September 10, 2019

“Dear Finance Minister, both Ola and Uber are offering their services in our Chhattisgarh, yet the automobile sector has grown. The question is related to the economy of the country, so it is requested that you study the model of economic development of Chhattisgarh once. Employment has increased here too,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, #BoycottMillennials was trending with a series of Tweets on the Finance minister’s statement.

https://twitter.com/2dnishant/status/1171616505093509120

EXCLUSIVE – #Nehru thrilled to know that #Millennials are being blamed and not him. pic.twitter.com/MZVcWXaUN3

— Akash Banerjee (@TheDeshBhakt) September 10, 2019

Democracy in India is going down the drain because millennials are being hired by the BJP IT cell.

That, Finance Minister, is something I can agree with.

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) September 11, 2019

Oxygen crisis will be occur because millennial inhale more oxygen in the morning. #BoycottMillennials pic.twitter.com/0LKxC8u3BW

— Muhammd Ali (@alikarwi00) September 11, 2019

Aviation industry is facing crisis because millennials prefer flying in PUBG plane #BoycottMillennials pic.twitter.com/nnDPwh75jq

— #PervySage_Jiraiyya ‏‎‎ஏழைகள் அவெஞ்சர் (@GreySasquatch) September 10, 2019

Real estate sector is annihilated because millennials prefer live-in relationship, that too in old rented houses/flats#BoycottMillennials https://t.co/7yA9bFhnKO

— Rofl Yogi (@licensedtodream) September 11, 2019

Also Read: Government’s Measures To Boost Economy: The Most Important Highlights From Finance Minister’s Speech