New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS): Luxury car segment financiers - Foreign passenger vehicle NBFC Captives (FOC) - are likely to see a pick-up in growth next fiscal due to low base, said ICRA.

The segment plays vital sales boosting financing role for the luxury car industry by offering low-cost credit and innovative credit models.

It also plays an important role in inventory and long-term financing for dealerships, which supports the dealers' financial flexibility owing to the relatively low sales volume of foreign OEMs in India.

According to ICRA, the slowdown in PV segment along with Covid-induced disruption led FOCs credit contraction by 8 per cent year-on-year in FY20 which further dipped by 4 per cent YTD in H1 FY21.

Besides, ICRA estimates showed that FOCs accounted for around 22 per cent of NBFC PV credit as on September 30, 2020.

The relatively higher contraction in luxury car volumes compared to overall PV sales, the share of FOCs declined to 22 per cent of NBFC PV credit as on September 30, 2020 from 25 per cent as on March 31, 2019.

"The challenging macroeconomic environment, the Covid-19 pandemic-related lockdown as well as the overall slowdown in the PV segment along with the cautious stance of FOCs towards wholesale lending led to a contraction in FOC credit in FY2020 and H1FY2021," said Manushree Saggar, Vice President and Head - Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA.

"However, ICRA expects recovery for NBFC PV credit in FY2022 with an expected credit growth of 3-5 per cent Y-o-Y. While market share of FOCs is expected to remain low in the overall NBFC PV credit, growth may look optically higher for FOCs due to low base."