​Ashok Leyland Needs Time to Liquidate BS-III Trucks Inventory

Ashok Leyland has said that there will be ‘carry forward inventory’ after the implementation of mandatory BS-IV emission norms in India. The commercial vehicle manufacturer, through 'carry forward inventory', is referring to the BS-III truck and bus stocks that will be left unsold after the BS-IV implementation. This inventory will both be left with the manufacturer as well as the dealers.

Nitin Seth, President, Defence and LCV, Ashok Leyland, in an interview given to business news channel BTVi said, "There will definitely be carry-forward inventory on March 31 in the pipeline -- whether it’s the company or with the dealers. So some time needs to be given to liquidate the inventory."

Many experts have also raised questions about the availability of BS-IV fuel in the country. The pricing of the BS-IV fuel may also be dearer to consumers than the prices of existing fuel range. CV manufacturers in India are also divided into two groups debating about the possible extension of BS-IV emission norms.

The Government of India has scheduled mandatory BS-IV implementation from April 01, 2017. No commercial vehicle manufacturer will be allowed to produce BS-III vehicles after the new emission norms get mandated. It is believed that the new emission norms will drastically help in curbing India’s pollution problem.

Nitin Seth commenting about BS-IV commercial vehicle sales also said, "We are already selling 70 per cent of our (LCV) vehicles as BS-IV in the last 5-6 months." He also said that people might prepone truck buying before the new emission norms kick in.

It was in the year 2000 that BS emission norms were first introduced in the country. These were based on the Euro emission norm standards followed in many European countries.