The car and bike manufacturers are expected to hike prices of their vehicle as early as June 2020 to offset the losses over the last two months
While automakers are not hesitant to launch their BSVI products despite the setback over the last two months due to the dire social and economic conditions, the arrival of some of the highly anticipated models have certainly been delayed. With the industry having embarked on a road to recovery, we might have to wait for quite sometime for sales numbers to improve back to normal.
The sales of the premium passenger cars and motorcycles have increased noticeable in recent years but there could be a switch back to people preferring more of the budget-based vehicles and avoid shared mobility for a long period of time. This could help in commuting without regular contact on public mobility services, and serve as a catalyst for the brands to revisit their launch strategies.
What is more certainly in the coming weeks is that the car and bike manufacturers are in a position to hike prices of their products. The Calendar Year 2019 was not overwhelming in volume sales across the automotive sector and we had witnessed increase in prices from companies long before the BSVI compliant models were introduced.
When the BSVI vehicles arrived, the prices had only gone up and a few took advantage in justifying the price hikes by adding new features or refreshing the entire package. The brands will be in a position to pass on their massive decline in sales to the customers as price hikes between 2 and 5 per cent are expected over the existing sticker tags as early as next month.
However, some brands could optimistically use the scenario and bring in new launches to have a first mover advantage ahead of the festive season. With the C-segment sedan sales shrinking, Honda could bring in the fifth generation City in a hope to revive its sales fortunes while Nissan’s Magnite compact SUV is expected to arrive in August 2020.
The Husqvarna Svartpilen 250 and the Vitpilen 250 have become dearer for the first time by Rs. 4,736 as Bajaj Auto recently released updated prices. The similar scenario will more likely prevail across most of the two-wheeler brands by June 2020.