On Wednesday, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has said that India’s automobile dealers are likely to face an existential crisis next year.
According to Bloomberg, Dealers in the South Asian nation may go out of business if they’re not allowed to sell older vehicles after April 1, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association said in a statement on Wednesday. FADA said most manufacturers will start making vehicles with the latest emission norms only by end-February, which means they’ll be stuck with previous models unless the Supreme Court modifies its order mandating sales of only Bharat Stage VI-compliant vehicles.
Automobile dealers' body FADA on Wednesday said it has moved the Supreme Court seeking sale and registry of unsold BS-IV vehicles beyond April 1, 2020. The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said it should be allowed to offload inventory purchased before March 1, 2020 which remain unsold by the month-end. Last year, the Supreme Court had ordered that no Bharat Stage IV vehicle shall be sold in the country with effect from April 1, 2020. The Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission norms would come into force from April 1 next year.
"Looking at this timeline and the current fluctuating demand situation, despite putting in the best of efforts, there is a possibility that many of our members will not be able to ensure 100 per cent liquidation of BS-IV inventory. "Looking at this timeline and the current fluctuating demand situation, despite putting in the best of efforts, there is a possibility that many of our members will not be able to ensure 100 per cent liquidation of BS-IV inventory," FADA President Ashish Harsharaj Kale told Bloomberg.
Last year, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur made it clear that only BS-VI compliant vehicles shall be sold in the country from April 1, 2020. The bench said the need of the hour was to move to a cleaner fuel. The BS-IV norms have been enforced across the country since April 2017.
