Discounts galore as two-wheeler firms offload BS-III models

 Two-wheeler majors Hero MotoCorp, HMSI, Bajaj Auto and Suzuki Motorcycle are offering discounts of up to Rs 22,000 on BS-III models to liquidate stocks, a day after the Supreme Court banned sale and registration of such vehicles from April 1.

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.

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 yesterday 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