BS-VI transition, supply disruption due to virus put car sales in slow lane

Sales of vehicles continued to decline in February, with carmakers shifting focus to disposing of existing stocks, before the transition to a new emission regime. Companies also said confidence was yet to return among buyers, with many holding back their decision to buy cars.

Carmakers focused more on aligning inventories, as dealers wanted to exhaust existing stocks of BS-IV vehicles before pushing new stocks, because the deadline to shift to the BS-VI platform on April 1 is round the corner.

Carmakers also forecast that a continuous shutdown in China due to the spread of coronavirus would start affecting supply chains.

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