Bike purchase rate drops in Valley
Rising cost, liquidity crunch in the banking system and a slowdown in the realty sector have hit the sales of two wheelers in the Kathmandu Valley. Sales in the two-wheeler segment, which had enjoyed a robust growth until last year, are now experiencing a slump, especially after the budget presentation in Nov. 20, 2010.
The post budget two-wheeler market scenario is gloomy. Registration of two wheelers in Bagmati Zone, the country’s major two wheeler market, declined by almost 24 percent in the five months after the budget. Such is the slowdown that the registration dropped by a whopping 48 percent last month (Mid-March to Mid-April).
According to the Bagmati Zonal Transport Management Office Two-wheeler Unit, it registered a total of 2,851 units of motorbikes over the period. The office had registered 5,447 units in the same period last year.
“Two-wheeler registration has declined massively as a result of the slowdown in the market,” said Madan Singh Mahat, under secretary and chief of the two-wheeler unit. He said it was the impact of the budget which increased the excise duty on bikes as well as four-wheelers.
Automobile traders attribute this slowdown to increase in prices after the budget. Vehicle prices went up by 10 percent on an average due to the hike in excise duty and other taxes. They said an increased price, high interest rates on auto loans and liquidity crisis, among others, are discouraging potential buyers. Motorcycle prices have increased by Rs 4,000-20,000 depending on the model.
Because of a low response form customers, many motorcycle dealers also came up with different promotional schemes, but to no avail. “The post budget scenario of the automobile market is dismal because of the decline in sales fuelled by the increased price and stagnation in the real estate sector,” Ashish Sharma, showroom manager, HH Bajaj at Teku. He said even promotional schemes are failing to attract customers.
HH Bajaj, through its New Year-2068 scheme, had targeted to increase its sales by at least 10-15 percent. However, Sharma said they only managed to achieve 2-5 percent growth. The company, which targeted to sale 50,000 units of bikes during the current fiscal, now estimates its sales of a maximum of 35,000 units. As of the ninth month of the current fiscal, HH Bajaj has sold 29,000 units of motorcycles.
Syakar Company, authorised distributor of Honda, discouraged by declining sales, has cut down its import by 50 percent from 4,000 to 2,000 units per month.
Rajan Raj Puri, manager-Import and Sales, Honda Division of Syakar, said they are planning to introduce a scheme for Honda motorcycles. “Sales are going down dramatically after the budget,” he added.
Currently, on the occasion of the Nepali New Year, all famous brands such as Bajaj, Yahama, and TVS are offering attractive schemes. Bajaj gifts Samsung appliances on the purchase of its brands—Pulsar, Discover, Avenger and XCD. On the purchase of Yamaha R15, FZS, and Fazer motorcycles, buyers get bags, gloves, helmets, jackets, bike covers. Under the ‘TVS Gold Maal Offer’, customers can get a gold coin weighing 3 gm on every purchase of TVS bikes.
Traders said despite promotional activities only a few genuine customers are approaching them and inquiries from potential customers are almost zero.
The office had registered a total of 7,112 bikes during the Mid-Aug. to mid-Sept—the festive season. The figure is also the highest in terms of the monthly registration during the first nine months (Mid-July to mid-April) of the current fiscal.
A total of 45,022 units of bikes have been registered in the Bazmati Zone in the first nine months, against last year’s 53,851 units. Officials said declining import might also leave a negative impact on the government’s revenue collection.
POST BUDGET MOTORCYCLE REGISTRATION IN BAGMATI ZONE
FY 09-10 FY 10-11
Mid-Nov to mid-Dec 7410 5842
Mid-Dec to mid-Jan 6734 4619
Mid-Jan to mid-Feb 6534 3839
Mid-Feb to mid-March 3999 5788
Mid-March to mid-April 5447 2851
Total 30124 22939
Posted on: 2011-04-24 09:55
Post Your Comment
Today's Paper
The Kantipur in Print
FROM THE PAST 7 DAYS
ENTER KEYWORD OR DATE
FROM THE PAST 7 DAYS
ENTER KEYWORD OR DATE
Abin
All of them discussed the issue. The result was the same...and we have committed to continue discussions on the issue till midnight.
ADVERTISEMENTS
OUR PUBLICATION :
