Delhiites queue up to buy cheaper BS-III vehicles but ‘stock over’ in most showrooms

The Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of vehicles which are not compliant with BS-IV emission norms from April 1 across the country.

Ankush Garg, a 21-year-old Saket resident, got out of his house at 10am on Friday morning and hopped on to his friend’s scooter. They rode the entire day in the sweltering heat, looking for a cheaper, BS-III two-wheeler.

The Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of vehicles which are not compliant with BS-IV emission norms from April 1 across the country. (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

“All I want is a motorcycle, which is slightly cheaper due to the discounts being offered. However, I am yet to find a single showroom which has one in stock,” Garg said.

And he is not alone. Thousands of Delhiites on Friday made beelines across vehicle showrooms to buy a “slightly cheaper” vehicle.

The Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of vehicles which are not compliant with BS-IV emission norms from April 1 across the country. To clear the BS-III vehicles in their stock, most companies asked their dealers to offer heavy discounts. And Friday was the last day to avail it.

The crowds were primarily noticed at motorcycle and scooter showrooms. While most of these sported “BS-III stock over” signs, people still tried their luck and visited multiple shops.

“We had much less stock of BS-III bikes. We had two left, sold them on Thursday,” a staff at a Green Park two-wheeler showroom

Few showrooms, however, had stock which was sold quick and fast to few lucky residents.

One such lucky man, Vipin Kumar Gola, got a TVS Apache RTR Rs15,000 cheaper than the on-road price at an Adhchini showroom. “This was the last BS-III model at this shop. Now ‘stock over’. But I have got my coveted two-wheeler and it has been not that hard on the wallet,” Gola said, with a big smile.

In the afternoon, a Bajaj showroom at Lajpat Nagar which HT visited had four BS-III bikes still up for grabs. And the discount on offer was from Rs 4,000-Rs15,000. “We had 10 left this morning. Six have been sold, four are left. These will also sell in a blink,” Kapil Agarwal, a staff at the shop, said.