Commercial vehicles can cost 6-10 per cent more from April 1

Come April 1, commercial vehicles might cost six to 10 per cent more, a top Ashok Leyland official said on Thursday.

He also said the impact of the Supreme Court's ban on sale of Bharat Stage-IV non-compliant vehicles from April 1, 2017 onwards will be minimal on Ashok Leyland.

On Wednesday, the apex court banned the sale of vehicles not compliant with the BS-IV emission norms in the country after April 1, 2017.

"Commercial vehicles are in the range of half-a-ton to 49 tonnes. The price increase from April 1 onwards will be in the range of six to 10 per cent," Managing Director of Ashok Leyland Vinod K. Dasari told BTVi in an interview.

According to Dasari, who is also the President of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the overall impact on the commercial vehicle industry is not much.

Dasari said typically a vehicle manufacturer keeps four-six weeks of inventory and at the dealer's end the inventory will be two-four weeks. It takes around four-six weeks to convert it into a vehicle before it is registered.

He said on an average the industry sells 60,000 commercial vehicles per month and for ten weeks the inventory will be around 150,000 vehicles for a normal pipeline of 10 weeks.

The industry had committed to halve that inventory level, that is, 75,000 units, Dasari said, adding that the apex court had allowed registration of vehicles sold earlier which would address nearly half the inventory of 75,000 units.

"So really what is addressed now is 35,000 units," Dasari said.

He said Ashok Leyland keeps a thin inventory level.

As to the options available for companies with BS-III vehicles, he said it depends on each company, technology and the engines used.

Dasari said whatever BS-III vehicles are left over after exports, can be converted into BS-IV vehicles by replacing the engine.

The old engine can be sold as spare parts, as there are many thousands of Ashok Leyland vehicles on the roads.

He said other manufacturers can also do the same.

--IANS

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