Ahmedabad:The implementation of the policy regarding use of only BS-6 standard of fuel from April 1, though was good for reducing pollution yet it was likely to further reduce the sales of two-wheeler by 10% in the next financial year, President of the Two-Wheeler Dealer Association Gujarat (TDAG), Pranav Shah said today.

Talking to newsmen here on the sidelines of the first statel level conference of the association Shah said that even though the BS 6 fuel was good for pollution reduction and would even increase the overall mileage by almost 10% it won’t be conducive for the sales growth.

‘The auto industry’s contribution to India’s economic growth is very significant, but in the recent past, economic weakness and the implementation of BS-6 has a direct impact on the sale of two-wheelers. Annual sales of two-wheelers in the state of Gujarat was kicking till 2017-18 when it was around 17 lakh units but it came down to about 14,50,000 in 2018-19, and is likely to decline to 12,30,000 in 2019-20. Due to BS-6 norms it would further come down by 10% in the next fiscal,’ he said.

On the other hand, with the implementation of 5 years of compulsory insurance, the cost of the vehicle will be increased around Rs. 4000, which has also adversely affected the growth of the Industry. With the change in the rules of emission norms in India, the registration of BS-4 will now come to an end and registration of new vehicles with only BS-6 will be valid, which will increase the cost of the vehicle by about 10%. In this situation, the Two-Wheeler Dealer Association is expecting a policy from the Government of India to reduce GST or take other helping measures. In addition, a vehicle scrapping policy has also been prepared, which needs to be implemented as soon as possible. This policy will help to increase sales in the auto industries as well as help to reduce accidents and pollution, Shah added.

Notably, there are more than 300 automobile dealers in Gujarat. Only two-wheeler sales turnover from Gujarat is over Rs. 9000 crores and it provides more than 25,000 people direct employment at various levels through the auto sector in Gujarat. Shah said that the jobs in the dealer’s network in the state has also seen a shrink of around 10% due to slowdown.

DeshGujarat