Indian automobile industry comprises of commercial vehicles, utility vehicles, passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and two-wheelers; of which the two wheeler segment constitutes approx 80% of the total automobile industry with the production of 17 million vehicles in 2013–14. Most intriguing feature of two-wheeler manufacturers is that they work on negative working capital. Their current liabilities are more than their current assets and still they are flourishing at the rate of 12.9% in 2014. This paper attempts to scrutinize the intricacies of working capital management in two-wheeler industry by assessing and comparing annual reports of three giants of two-wheeler manufacturer in India. It is imperative to understand till when the positives of a negative working capital will continue to work for the two-wheeler industry.
Automobile, manufacturing, working capital, growth
