Coronavirus Effect: BS4 Car Sales Could Be Extended By 2 Months

India's dealership association requests Supreme Court for respite as COVID-19 pandemic hits sales

The economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are hitting the auto industry too. The social distancing and quarantine practices have made it harder for dealerships to get rid of their BS4 inventory in time for the current March 31 deadline.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has once approached the Supreme Court to allow sales and registration of BS4 vehicles till May 31 given the current circumstances. As per the current deadline, no BS4-compliant vehicles can be sold or registered from April 1 onwards. This would result in unsold inventory of BS4 vehicles across dealerships. While most carmakers have already started offering BS6 compliant engines, the matter of selling the BS4 stock remains a burden on the dealers.

According to the FADA, walk-in sales have fallen by 60 to 70 per cent in recent days as people stay at home, taking precautions against the coronavirus pandemic. The federation had made a similar request in February as well which had been declined. FADA President Ashish Harsharaj Kale said, “there has been a drastic change in circumstances in conducting business as usual.”

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He further stated, “The situation has worsened in the past 3-4 days with partial lockdown situation in many towns and cities and few district magistrates have started issuing notices of closure of shops and establishments including auto dealerships to stop the spread of virus.”

The Supreme Court is yet to respond to this latest request as the automotive industry has been experiencing a downturn for over a year now. The BS4 sales extension is unlikely to affect the transition towards BS6-compliant vehicles but it may extend the lease of life for various BS4 cars still in stock, especially the diesel variants, at dealers' ends.

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