The Indian Automotive Industry made a transition from BS4 to stringent BS6 vehicle emission norms. Automobile companies were given the deadline of April 1, 2020, for sale and purchase of BS4 vehicles. The companies were racing against time to clear their unsold BS4 stock. Due to COVID-19 outbreak, India imposed nationwide restrictions. This forced the dealerships to close down their businesses for several days. As a result, the brands made a beeline to the Supreme Court of India asking for relief. The honourable Supreme Court gave a lifeline to the manufacturing companies in the form of a 10-day relaxation period. During this window, the dealerships could sell only 10 percent of their unsold BS4 inventory.
Some companies have found a solution to the unsold inventory by registering the amassed BS4 stock through dealerships across the country. The idea was to sell the BS4 stock as unused old vehicles with discounts in order to cut down their losses. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) is now selling unused vehicles with heavy discounts. On their official website, the Japanese two-wheeler firm has created a new section to collect information like name, location, contact details plus the model that the customer is really interested in. After filling of the contact form, nearest Honda dealership to the customer would get in touch with the interested buyer and take forward the process.
The discount amount would largely depend on the number of unsold BS4 stock that the dealership has at its disposal. Some dealerships are offering pre-registered Honda scooters and motorcycles at a discount of Rs 10,000- Rs 15,000 compared to their ex-showroom price. The downside to the purchase of an unused vehicle is that the buyer would be the second owner. This means that the resale value of the scooter or motorcycle will be less. Also, if a buyer takes the financing options, the rate of interest will be higher for the used vehicle.
As of now, our queries with various dealerships indicate that models like Honda Activa, Hornet, CB Shine, Dio and Pivot are currently available. It is not just the scooters and motorcycles that available for purchase at good discounts, higher capacity bike like the CBR250R is also present in the unsold BS4 stock. So this would be a good time to fill up the form on the Honda website and find if your favourite model is available or not. Citizens are now looking to avoid public transportation and use personal vehicles in the current COVID-19 scenario. This would be a good time to find a bargain with the nearest dealership and purchase a pre-registered BS4 vehicle at a good rate.