In Pics: Massive rush at auto showrooms after huge discounts on BS-III vehicles

After the Supreme Court’s ban on the sale of BS III vehicles from 1 April, 2017, auto dealers are offering heavy discounts across the country.

Thousands of Indians rushed to their nearest automobile showrooms on Friday as dealers offered huge discounts and a slew of freebies to clear leftover stock of cars and two-wheelers compliant with the older BS-III emission norms.

A man poses for a picture sitting on a BS-IV standard motorcycle at a showroom in New Delhi. (Prakash Singh / AFP)

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court banned the sale of BS-III compliant vehicles from April 1, dealing a Rs 12,000 crore blow to the auto industry. Dealers were left with just two days to dispose of nearly 850,000 vehicles, around 750,000 of which were two-wheelers.

Many showrooms offered discounts of up to Rs 1 lakh, but in many cities, prospective buyers went back disappointed as dealerships either ran out of stock or downed shutter following excessive rush. Experts said many dealers had booked the vehicles themselves, to sell it later for a massive profit. The sale of the older vehicles is banned from Saturday but there is no restriction on their registration.

People gather at a Honda showroom for purchasing BS-III model vehicles in Gurgaon’s Sector-14. (Parveen Kumar / HT Photo)

Consumers waiting for their turn at a Honda showroom to buy their BS-III model vehicles in Jammu. (Nitin Kanotra / HT Photo)

Honda showrooms in Gurgaon had to down their shutters following rush of customers for clearance sale after the ban of BS-III models by the Supreme Court. (Parveen Kumar / HT Photo)

People rush to buy vehicles after reports said Hero MotoCorp, Honda, Bajaj Auto and Suzuki were offering discounts of up to Rs 22,000 on BS-III models to liquidate stocks. (Nitin Kanotra / HT Photo)

A customer waits for his turn at a Honda showroom. (Nitin Kanotra / HT Photo)

Customer try out bikes at a Suzuki showroom. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

Customers check out a BS-III standard motorcycle being offered at a discount at a showroom in Amritsar. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

There was heavy rush at showrooms on Thursday evening also as customers waited to get delivery of vehicles. (Nitin Kanotra / HT Photo)

With 6.71 lakh two-wheelers, out of over 8 lakh BS-III vehicles impacted by the ban, dealers said they tried to sell as many units as possible before the deadline by offering huge discounts. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Some dealers, which had initially offered a flat discount of Rs 10,000 on BS-III scooters and motorcycles, later increased it to Rs 22,000. (Arun Sharma/HT PHOTO)