[condor]

What if considering the wide economic and financial impact, these vehicles are permitted by more than 3 months? Guess we will know tomorrow.

[wheelguy]

Meanwhile, Rajiv Bajaj is having an opposing view. - Link

Bajaj Auto chief says Covid-19 should not be a reason to extend the BS-IV deadline.

• Rajiv Bajaj is categorical that his company will continue to object to any extension for Bharat Stage-IV two-wheeler stocks since this “unjustly penalises those of us” who have complied with the law in “letter and spirit”.

• According to the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, defaulting companies must reimburse their dealers for “redundant BS-IV stocks, if any, on April 1”.

• Hero MotoCorp has already sought the Supreme Court’s intervention to defer the BS-IV deadline to June 30 due to the havoc caused by Covid-19 across the country. Likewise, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has also gone on record to say that the disruption has led to surplus BS-IV stocks, implying that an extension to the deadline will definitely be a big help.

• It is a stand that Bajaj Auto is unwilling to accept, given that it has pulled out all the stops in preparing itself for the BS-VI emissions era. This is also true for TVS Motor, Royal Enfield and Yamaha which are on track for the April 1 kick-off point.
  
  “It is the job of management to anticipate and plan for a contingency,” Bajaj told BusinessLine over the phone. As he put it, “if the deadline is April 1, you must plan in advance”. Clearly, it has not been a walk in the park for those manufacturers who worked 24x7 to make the transition from BS-IV to BS-VI in barely 36 months.
  The key to this, said Bajaj, was to plan smartly well in advance especially when the deadline had been spelt out loud and clear. Even while the Covid-19 pandemic has spooked the general public, he maintained that industry is operating in an unpredictable world today. Be it drought, floods, legislations, geopolitical tensions etc “there is no end to these factors”.
  
  By the end of the day, continued Bajaj, if some companies managed to meet the BS-VI deadline, it just meant that their managements did their job while others did not. The fact that BS-IV stocks were still being fed into the dealer system till February also did little to help their cause.

[Eddy]

The auto industry is helping out by offering premises for quarantine, manufacturing ventilators, donating money etc.

They deserve an extra quarter to get rid of the bs4 vehicles. I voted yes, but now it's a stronger yes from me.

[Dhiwakar92]

Dealers would've wanted an extension even if they knew a few years in advance that the virus was coming for the whole world in 2020. Clearly, neither the government nor the Indian public should be penalized for this by having these dirty polluting vehicles ply on our roads.

[indian21r]

I never get why the government / supreme court make things so complicated for the people. A cut of date on manufacturing was straight forward decision. Why limit selling products already manufactured which have long shelf life.

I hope sense prevails in the future.

[Diesel_Drives]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

Meanwhile, Rajiv Bajaj is having an opposing view. - Link

“It is the job of management to anticipate and plan for a contingency,” Bajaj told BusinessLine over the phone. As he put it, “if the deadline is April 1, you must plan in advance”. Clearly, it has not been a walk in the park for those manufacturers who worked 24x7 to make the transition from BS-IV to BS-VI in barely 36 months.

He is indeed a smart gentleman who normally doesn't mince his words, but then again all his decisions/wisdom haven't been in the best interest of Bajaj company always. For Bajaj, it would have been easier to liquidate their balance inventories to their export markets, which wouldn't have been the case for Hero Motors or Honda.

His words do not lend support to the dealership fraternity either, who would be saddled with BS4 inventories. (mostly for no fault of theirs). The automobile industry will further get a major setback with dealerships suffering.

Also in some cases, wherein people may have bought BS4 vehicles before the lockdown but haven't been able to register now with curfew conditions.

Hoping the SC takes a holistic viewpoint on this matter. (much like how RBI is taking cognisance of the developments in economy or rather lack there off)

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by Dhiwakar92

...neither the government nor the Indian public should be penalized for this by having these dirty polluting vehicles ply on our roads.

These new BS4 vehicles are far less polluting than the decade old cars running in this country. Some of them may be running as "priced positions" of their owners, but some others may be running because the owners may not have enough budget to buy a replacement car. So, it's better to allow the owners of the 15 / 20 year old vehicles to exchange their obsolete "BS0" cars with these "less obsolete" BS4 cars at a cheaper price tag.

Eg: A 20-year old Indica can be exchanged with a new BS4 Tiago at a 2 lakh discount. Owners will be happy. Dealers will be happy. Manufacturers also will be happy.

Originally Posted by volkman10

Supreme Court allows the sale of 10% of all unsold BS IV stock/inventory for 10 days from the end of the all-India lockdown (April 14) except in Delhi and NCR.

What is this 10% thing? What about the remaining 90%? Take back, change the engine and sell it to dealers again?

[volkman10]

Supreme Court allows the sale of 10% of all unsold BS IV stock/inventory for 10 days from the end of the all-India lockdown (April 14) except in Delhi and NCR.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) - the unified national body representing 15,000 automotive dealer principals across the country - and vehicle manufacturers today received a reprieve in the form of a clearance from the Supreme Court. It allows them sale of 10% of all unsold BS IV stock/inventory for 10 days frtom the end of the all-India lockdown (April 14) except in Delhi and NCR.

Link

[Bibendum90949]

https://auto.ndtv.com/news/supreme-c...hicles-2201735

The 10% rider is ambiguous . Does it mean that they can sell only a max of 10 % from the unsold inventory . What if they sell 40% from now till April 24 th ( the 10 th day after the lockdown is supposed to end ). Is it allowed?

Or the 10 % kicks in on April 1st? How does the 10% gets calculated -dealer wise , OEM wise etc.? Unclear.

Just received the below text from a contact who works in the industry.

"Dear Members & Dealer Friends,

The Hon'ble Supreme Court has just announced the the judgement w.r.t. BS-4 inventory.

We have got Partial Relief.

1- 10% of BS-IV Vehicles which are unsold will be allowed to be sold for a Certain Number of Days post the Lock-down is removed except in Delhi-NCR.

2- All vehicles which are sold but not registered will be allowed to be registered for a certain number of Days post the Opening of the Lock Down

We will be in a position to Explain the Details Only once the Final order is released.

*Any other Explanation from Our side would be Speculation Unless Our Lawyers do Not Study the Detailed Orders and give their Opinion*

Will request you to Have Patience till then. ��

Thanking you,

Ashish Harsharaj Kale
President - FADA "

[Turbanator]

I reckon, this 10% is off their yearly purchase, FY perhaps. So, if any dealership has bought 100 cars in whole year, they will allow them to sell 10 cars post 31 March. This is to ensure fairness, anyone who might have hoarded in anticipation of the order won’t able to take advantage.

[anjan_c2007]

The SC order is not yet fully clear and once the written text is out, things will be clearer. The 10% figure that can be sold, 10 days after the lockdown is lifted, means that if the lockdown is extended by another 10 days, the extension of the deadline shall remain in force till 10 days hence.

And the 10% figure is ambiguous. Is it 10 % of the unsold inventories with dealers or manufacturers (if any) and does it mean 10% by numbers or 10 % by the Rupee value of the unsold inventory ?

https://auto.ndtv.com/news/supreme-c...hicles-2201735

Let's await the order and only thereafter the picture will be clear. But excluding the NCR and Delhi is questionable. This is because these locations were also affected by the lockdown w.e.f. 25.03.2020.

And also Maharashtra (partial lockdown w.e.f. 14.03.2020) and in some other affected locations, where lockdown in the entire states/UT's have been enforced w.e.f. sometime in the third week of March, including closure of automobile dealerships, much prior to the national lockdown, cannot be treated as equals. It is possible that these states/UT's were not properly represented before the SC, Division Bench.

[indian21r]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I reckon, this 10% is off their yearly purchase, FY perhaps. So, if any dealership has bought 100 cars in whole year, they will allow them to sell 10 cars post 31 March. This is to ensure fairness, anyone who might have hoarded in anticipation of the order won’t able to take advantage.

How many people will rush within 10 days of the lockdown to purchase vehicles? People will be prioritizing their other needs before getting into purchases. What is the 10% rule.

It feels they are just compensating the 10 days that were lost since the Junta Curfew.

Somehow I feel, SC's decision is erratic.

Maybe FADA should start a taxi service. In one shot majority of the unsold stock can get liquidated as taxis cars/scooters. A huge opportunity for Bounce/Zoom etc to expand fleet.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by indian21r

How many people will rush within 10 days of the lockdown to purchase vehicles?

I agree. This is a new problem and perhaps deserved a little more sympathy. But certain manufacturers are themselves to blame for. As an example, Hero continued producing Euro 4 bikes as late as Feb. Some are even saying they produced in March. Similarly, BMW had produced some units of 4 & 6 cylinder diesel until Jan but they quickly got rid. Hardly any stocks left.

On the clarity of this 10 % judgement, most dealerships are mentally prepared to get the cars/ bikes registered in their own name and sell later as pre-registered. They might end up losing little more, say RTO costs but that should be it.

SC knows this option is available to everyone and probably that's the reason they have been strict. They have covered the lockdown period in this judgment as per my understanding, so I will say a very fair judgment considering everything. Let's wait for a final interpretation.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

On the clarity of this 10 % judgement, most dealerships are mentally prepared to get the cars/ bikes registered in their own name and sell later as pre-registered. They might end up losing little more, say RTO costs but that should be it.

Aren't all the RTOs closed? I see a few members worried about registering their vehicles before the last date in the ' I booked my car' thread.

[indian21r]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I agree. This is a new problem and perhaps deserved a little more sympathy. But certain manufacturers are themselves to blame for. As an example, Hero continued producing Euro 4 bikes as late as Feb. Some are even saying they produced in March. Similarly, BMW had produced some units of 4 & 6 cylinder diesel until Jan but they quickly got rid. Hardly any stocks left..

I agree, manufacturers should have ceased producing BS4 vehicles in November or December itself. Continuing to produce till now with all the Headwinds is sheer stupidity. They simply passed the baton to the dealers who were already limping.

Life would have been easier for everyone by referencing the word manufacturing instead of sale with respect to the end date. So many man-hours /days lost on something that could have simply been avoided.

Will this new 10-10 rule be straight forward or complicated let's wait and watch.