Bajaj has been very vocal about their timely transition to BS4. They went on to conduct a press conference in February and called for penalty for all the manufacturers who fail to sell BS4 motorcycles from 1st April 2017, the date when the new norms kick in.
In an update to this, they have shared yet another press release sharing more details. We are listing down the main pointers about this whole episode…
Bajaj BS4: Quick Pointers
- Bajaj was one of the first manufacturer who claims to have converted their entire range into BS4 compliant products.
- They say that they started shipping BS4 compliant products from October 2016 itself.
- Further, all their products being manufactured at their three plants are BS4 compliant from January 2017.
- They inform that they had zero BS3 motorcycles and 3-wheelers since February.
- After this, they persuaded dealerships to exhaust BS3 stock as soon as possible.
- They announce that, despite being a market leader, with 50% share, they will practically have zero stock of BS3 3-wheelers.
- A similar situation was expected for motorcycles but they say that desperate discounting in the range of Rs 2000 to 12,000 per vehicle for entry level motorcycles by their chief rival (Hero or Honda?) has impacted their retail sales. This will mean that they will have one week of stock remaining with their dealerships on April 1st.
- Bajaj further informs that monthwise production data submitted by SIAM to the Supreme Court reveals that the biggest offenders, instead of winding down production (of BS3 vehicles) after the ruling, had in fact, ramped it up!
What has happened is – Bajaj says that they have invested a lot in this conversion and some manufacturers are pushing for a leeway or relaxation of a month or two to EPCA (Environment Pollution Control Authority) to exhaust their current stock of BS3 models.
Bajaj had earlier said that they want that there should be no relaxation given to anyone and if there is any amnesty being provided, it should attract sizeable financial penalty for each BS3 compliant vehicle sold (and registered) from 1st April 2017.
It must be understood that government has made it mandatory for all two-wheelers and commercial vehicles to adhere to BS4 compliance from 1st April 2017.
