Half of BS III commercial vehicle stock unsold: Dealers

Industry estimates unsold commercial vehicle inventory with dealers is around 35,000

The inventory of two-wheelers compliant with BS III emission standards sold out almost completely before the new BS IV standard set in on April 1, but half the commercial vehicle inventory was unsold, dealers said.

The Supreme Court this week disallowed the sale and registration of BS III vehicles after April 1. However, vehicles sold before March 31 will be registered. 

The industry estimates the unsold commercial vehicle inventory with dealers is around 35,000.

John K Paul, president of the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Associations (FADA), said discounts on the unsold stock were being offered by automobile manufacturers and these would have no impact on dealers.  

Executives with two-wheeler makers said they were confident that sales would rebound as BS IV stocks became available with dealers.

Executives working for commercial vehicle manufacturers said the BS III stock was unlikely to be cleared despite offering credit of up to 30 days to large fleet operators and special discounts ranging from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per vehicle over and above the regular discounts.

An executive with Ashok Leyland said the company had the option of selling the unsold inventory abroad. The company will also recall some BS III vehicles and upgrade them to BS IV.

Ashok Leyland Managing Director Vinod K Dasari said commercial vehicle makers typically held 4-6 weeks of inventory, dealers 2-4 weeks of inventory and customers took 4-6 weeks to have a vehicle registered. Normally, 150,000 vehicles were stuck in a pipeline of 10-16 weeks and manufacturers had committed to bringing this down to 75,000, he added.

Around half of this inventory will be registered if sold before March 31, leaving an unsold stock of 35,000 vehicles.