TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Sales of two-wheelers in the world’s biggest market, India, remained flat in Navratri after a disappointing Onam. Demand in Onam, which marks the onset of the festive season, was affected owing to Kerala floods. “The Navratri season was flat for us though we saw a recovery towards the tail of the festival. The industry would be probably at similar or lower levels.
Reasons have been the uncertainty around insurance aspect, which acted as a dampener. Otherwise, there has been no change at the macroeconomic level,” Sanjay Bhan, head (sales and after sales) at country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp told.
The confusion related to insurance was that the third-party accident cover of Rs 100,000 was being mandated to go up to Rs 1.5 million for both two-wheelers and cars. Then it was said that it needs to be done for five years at one go, pushing the cost of premium up from Rs 50-Rs 750 per year for every Rs 100,000 cover. And for five years, it became Rs 3,750, making it costlier to purchase a two-wheeler.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), however, later clarified that a buyer now needs to spend Rs 750 at a time for one year. “We are still trying to represent to IRDA that you cannot have the same cover for two-wheelers and cars,” said Bhan.
