Customers make a beeline for discounted BS-III two-wheelers

Some of the two-wheeler dealers who faced the challenge of disposing their inventory of BS-III vehicles in two days flat – March 30 and 31 – now have a different problem. It’s one of having more customers and less or no BS-III vehicles that are offered at big discounts from carmaker’s.

A Hero MotoCorp dealer in Mumbai told our sister publication Autocar Professional that he had to call the police to avoid any untoward situation at the showroom. After the Supreme Court judgement on March 29, OEMs wasted no time and offered heavy discounts to reduce BS-III vehicle inventory levels which were pegged at 6,71,305 units.

In Chennai, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India was offering a discount of Rs 13,500 on scooters and Rs 18,500 on motorcycles (only on March 30). Showrooms were open until 10pm yesterday as customers made a beeline for showrooms to pick their discounted set of wheels. As a result, some dealers in the city cleared their stock last night.

A visit to Didar Motors, one of the leading Honda two-wheeler dealers in Chennai this morning, revealed that the BS-III scooters and motorcycles were out of stock. However, many customers are still flocking to showrooms hoping to strike an attractive deal.

In Pune, Kothari Wheels sold more than 500 units of BS III-compliant two-wheelers on March 30, offering discounts ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. The Honda Navi was sold with a Rs 15,000 discount. Needless to say, this dealership has no BS-III compliant stock left now. Hero MotoCorp had the following discounts on offer: Rs 14,000 (including insurance worth Rs 1,500) on scooter models; Rs 9,000 on the Glamour, Rs 14,000 on Karizma models; Rs 7,500 on the Passion.

While the Honda dealership shut at 11am today, the Hero dealership downed shutters at 1.30pm. At the backend, both dealerships are now working on RTO formalities. Vehicle deliveries are to be done later. At Monarch, a six-facility Yamaha India dealership, there were only 40 BS-III vehicles which are sold out now.
 
Likewise in New Delhi, buyers are thronging showrooms but few have stocks left. One Bajaj Auto dealer had only the CT100 commuter model left in stock. All other Bajaj motorcycles at this dealership are BS-IV compliant. Hero MotoGroup, which was offering smaller discounts of Rs 2,000-Rs 4,000 earlier on some products, raised the discounts yesterday and managed to sell considerable numbers.

It is understood that dealers of Hero, Royal Enfield, TVS and Honda have cleared most of their inventories. What’s left now would be company stockyards.

Most dealerships said that the discount on stock has generated more customer response than in the festive season of Diwali. However, this heavy discounting has not made all customers happy. A Bajaj Platina owner in Pune, who bought his motorcycle on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa on March 28, is distraught that the same motorcycle is now being sold for Rs 15,000 less.