New Delhi:
March 31 is the last day of discounts offered by major motorcycles firms like Hero MotoCorp, HMSI, Bajaj Auto, TVS, Honda Motorcycle, Scooter India and Suzuki Motorcycle up to Rs 22,000 on BS-III models to liquidate stocks.
In its order on March 29, the Supreme Court banned sales and registration of BS-III vehicles and observed that the health of people is "far, far more important" than the commercial interest of manufacturers.
With 6.71 lakh two-wheelers, out of over 8 lakh BS-III vehicles impacted by the ban, dealers said the immediate effort is to sell as many units as possible before the deadline by offering "unheard of discounts" in the industry.
Two and three wheeler major TVS Motor has joined other manufacturers in offering discounts on BS III models to liquidate stocks.
The company has announced discounts "upto Rs 20,150" across its models in BS III variants which is valid for one day (March 31,2017), company sources said.
Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India had earlier announced discounts of upto Rs 12,500 on BS III models following the Supreme Court order.
Also read: SC ban on BS3 vehicles: What is BS-III, BS-IV? All you need to know about emission norms
TVS Motor Company has asked its over 4,000 dealers to strictly comply with the Supreme Court order banning on BS III vehicles from April 1 and asked dealers to sell all the remaining stock of such vehicles before March 31.
The company is a responsible corporate citizen and is fully supportive of a better environment for its customers, and society at large, it added.
The Chennai-based company said it is fully geared up to meet the new emission guidelines and had already commenced manufacture and sale of BS IV compliant vehicles to the dealers.
The automobile firms have declined to take "sufficient pro-active steps" despite being fully aware that they would be required to manufacture only BS-IV compliant vehicles from April one, 2017, the apex court had said.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), which had initially offered a flat discount of Rs 10,000 on its BS-III scooters and motorcycles increased it to Rs 22,000 later in the day.
The company said it is offering cash back offer of Rs 22,000 on its BS-III scooters and motorcycles models Activa 3G (priced Rs 50,290), Dream Yuga (Rs 51,741), CB Shine (Rs 55,799 to Rs 61,283) and CD 110DX (Rs 47,202 to Rs 47,494).
Market leader Hero MotoCorp offered discounts of up to Rs 12,500 on its BS-III two-wheelers.
According to dealers, the company is offering rebate of Rs 12,500 on its scooters, Rs 7,500 on premium bikes and Rs 5,000 on entry level mass market motorcycles.
The models on which discounts are offered include scooters Duet (priced Rs 49,480) and Maestro Edge (Rs 51,030), motorcycles Glamour (Rs 59,755) and Splendor 125 (Rs 55,575).
Another two-wheeler maker Suzuki Motorcycle India also announced offers on its Let's scooter and Gixxer motorcycle.
On the scooter, Let's priced (Rs 47,272 to Rs 53,766), the company offered a discount of Rs 4,000 plus a free helmet, while on Gixxer (Rs 77,452 to Rs 90,421) the benefit is up to Rs 5,000 with exchange benefits of up to Rs 2,000. All prices are ex-showroom Delhi.
Bajaj Auto also offered discounts and free insurance on its different models, starting from the entry level Platina to Pulsar RS200 in the range of Rs 3,000 to Rs 12,000 along with free insurance.
"If there are any unsold inventory left, we have the possibility to export as we are a big exporter to around 70 countries across the world," Bajaj Auto President (Business Development & Assurance) S Ravikumar told PTI.
The companies said the offer will be valid till stocks last or up to March 31.
"These are unheard of discounts ever in the two-wheeler industry," Federation of Automobile Dealers (FADA) past president and Director-International Affairs Nikunj Sanghi said.
When asked about what actions were dealers taking following the apex court verdict, he said: "Our energy is focused on selling as much stock as possible before the deadline. Our people are calling up potential customers informing them about the offers."
He said the dealership community was hoping for some relief from the court in the form of more time to sell their stocks but with that not happening, the focus has shifted to liquidating the stocks.
Afterwards, it will have to be discussed with the manufacturers what to do with the unsold inventories, if at all any are left, he added. On the commercial vehicles front, Ashok Leyland said it wasn't offering discounts on any of its vehicles.
"Our products are in good demand and we will not be offering any price discounts," a company spokesperson said. Mahindra & Mahindra said it is working on various options to work within the framework provided by the court order.
It is "even trying to liquidate as much of the company's and its dealers' BS III inventory as possible by March 31, 2017 and will make every attempt to minimise the one time impact of this order on the company's financials", without sharing details of the steps.
Comments from Tata Motors could not be obtained.
Observing on Thursday that health of the people is "far, far more important" than the commercial interests of the manufacturers, the Supreme
Court said that automobile firms have declined to take "sufficient pro-active steps" despite being fully aware that they would be required to manufacture only BS-IV compliant vehicles from April 1, 2017.
(With inputs from PTI)
