Domestic two-wheeler sales, which were yet to recover from a slowdown and then the first and second waves of the pandemic, have been hit further by Omicron.
After a very weak December quarter and a poor year-to-date (YTD) financial year volumes – when sales plunged to the lowest in nine years — the signs in the first 15 days of January haven't been encouraging either.
“Though the severity of the current wave is not as high as the previous one, it has hit sentiments hard, impacting conversion of enquiries into sales," said Vinkesh Gulati, president, Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA).
As a result, stocks are piling up.
Average inventory at the dealerships currently stands at 50 days against the norm of 25-30 days, he said.
There is a lot more to the sales hitting a speed bump in the world's largest motorcycle and scooter market than just the pandemic.
Given the disproportionately high percentage of two-wheeler buyers close to 80-90 per cent — coming from the lower-income group, the protracted slowdown is telling a tale of India's inequitable economic growth and widening income disparity, point out economists.
This story is from the January 17, 2022 edition of Business Standard.
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This story is from the January 17, 2022 edition of Business Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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