The market for exports of automobile components would see improvements only in the second half of the ongoing financial year, apex industry body, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), said on Wednesday.

Exports of domestic automobile components saw a decline last year, with global auto giants US and Japan being hit because of the slowdown.

After grossing a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of 25-30 per cent in five years before the slowdown, the auto components exports industry saw a growth of just 5 per cent in the previous (fiscal) financial year.

“A recovery in the market for exports of auto components can only be seen in the second half of the ongoing financial year, as global markets such as Japan and the US are showing steady signs of recovery,” Vishnu Mathur, executive director of ACMA, told Financial Chronicle. He added that the next seven-eight months should be closely watched for signs of improvement in exports.

On the other hand, imports of automobile components from China, which are cheaper compared with their domestic counterparts in the country, have been growing at an enormous rate.

“Import of auto components from China will become highly significant in the future. While the overall industry for auto component imports is growing at 30 per cent per annum, imports of Chinese auto parts are growing at more than 100 per cent every year,” Mathur said.

China forms more than 10 per cent of the $4.5 billion market for auto components imports at present, he added.