Madhurima
MUMBAI: The industry bodies representing automobile manufacturers and dealers will be approaching the Supreme Court yet again to request an extension on the time period set to sell the vehicles with Bharat Stage - IV compliant engines as the rising coronavirus epidemic has had a negative impact and affected the attempts to clear inventory.
As per a recent survey, the automobile industry has been hit by the worst ever slowdown of sales for over a year now. Earlier, it was declared that the country must switch to BS-VI standard in order to lessen carbon emissions by 1 April 2020. This gives the manufacturers a small window of just 2 weeks to clear their stocks of BS-VI, which are too many in number, especially 2 wheelers.
SIAM or the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and FADA or the Federation of Automotive Dealers are now in talks to approach the supreme court individually, in order to extend the deadline set on March 31. An extension is needed by them till the pandemic outbreak stabilises.
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Vice President from the Federation of Automotive Dealers, Vinkesh Gulati said, "We are compelled to approach the Supreme Court once again following high unsold BS-IV inventory. There is distress among two-wheeler dealers because of the high stock levels, and low walk-ins to dealerships due to the coronavirus outbreak. Four-wheeler BS-IV stocks are manageable, except for a few manufacturers and certain non-moving colours and models."
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Meanwhile, SIAM is yet to take the consent of its members about the decision and then decide what has to be done next. The outbreak has resulted in not only the automobile industry getting affected but all the economic activities in general. This is because of the consumers indulging in quarantines and not getting out to engage. Which in turn is impacting the sale of the vehicles and the inventory. Rajan Wadhera, President of SIAM describes this as a matter of "major concern".
