The BS6 emission norms came into play last month and with this, various carmakers, including Maruti Suzuki, are left with unsold stock
The Indian automotive industry is currently going through its worst phase in last few decades. Troubles started brewing up last year, when it became clear that the stricter emission norms would kick in on 1 April 2020. With this, an uncertainty prevailed amongst the car buyers and this led to sales dropping for all carmakers.
Meanwhile, as the BSVI emission norms came closer, the carmakers started trying really hard to liquidate all the BSIV stock. However, to make matters worse, the undesirable situation that has marred the market since March 2020 has led to all carmakers being left with unsold stock of BSIV cars.
While it’s true that the Supreme Court did extend the deadline to sell these vehicles by 10 days after the second phase of lockdown, dealerships were allowed to sell only 10 percent of the leftover stock. So, basically, what all this means is that the carmakers are still left with unsold inventory.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country’s largest-selling carmaker, is said to have written off Rs 125 crore of obsolete BSIV components. This piece of information has been revealed by Ajay Seth, CFO, Maruti Suzuki. The company has already written off this loss at the beginning of the current quarter.
It may be noted here that Maruti Suzuki India Ltd was among the first carmakers to introduce BSVI-compliant vehicles in the market. This has even led to the company shelving its entire diesel-powered fleet of vehicles. With this, the company has introduced the Brezza with a petrol engine and the same will be seen on the S-Cross in the coming weeks and in the upcoming rebadged ‘Toyota Urban Cruiser’.
Both the Maruti Brezza and the S-Cross have received the 1.5-litre K-series powerplant that does duties on the Ciaz as well as the Ertiga & XL6. The naturally-aspirated four-pot petrol motor is available with two transmission options – 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic. SHVS mild-hybrid technology is also on offer.