With the fast-approaching 31 March 2020 deadline for sale of BS4 vehicles in the country, the automobile companies are stuck with the unsold BS4 inventory worth Rs 6,400 crore. The situation worsened when India recently went into a complete lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic until 14 April. It is believed that over 12,000 dealerships located across the country are shut for operations in the lockdown states.
Major automotive brands namely, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Kia Motors, Mahindra, Toyota, Renault and Nissan have stopped production at their respective facilities. Luxury car manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Rolls Royce have also stopped production until there is an improvement in the situation. The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has approached the Supreme Court of India is seeking extension of BS4 deadline to 31 May, 2020, due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak in the country. The application cites that counter sales have dropped by 60-70 per cent across auto dealerships in the country in the past few days as the customer walk-ins have reduced to a trickle over the fear of spreading the virus.
Media reports state that the Supreme Court has refused to hear the FADA plea to extend the deadline to 31 May. Currently, the BS4 deadline remains at 31 March and changes if any will be known in the days to come.
Photo Source: FE
