Similarly, HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar remarked, “There is pressure in automotive, especially in Europe, reflected in our numbers this quarter and likely in the next as well.” Vijayakumar added that cost-cutting measures among some major clients have led to project cancellations.

Despite the automotive slowdown, IT leaders remain optimistic about manufacturing growth outside the automotive space. Wipro CEO and MD Srinivas Pallia highlighted opportunities in software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and cloud-based car solutions on the engineering front.