Liberal finance to rev up 2-wheelers
Financiers are likely to loosen their purse strings during festival season and raise disbursement of loans to encourage consumers to spend money on two-wheelers.
By Meenakshi Verma & Chanchal Pal Chauhan, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Faced with a slowdown in the two-wheeler market, financiers and manufacturers are betting on the festival season for a much-needed boost in sales. Financiers are likely to loosen their purse strings and increase disbursement of loans in the next two months to encourage consumers to spend money on two-wheelers. Also, two-wheeler manufacturers are gearing up to offer 0% interest loans in collaboration with financiers.
“We expect the festival season to contribute nearly 35% to the entire sales in the fiscal year. The stringent rules on loan disbursement will apply to only certain pockets where we feel consumer behaviour is not correct. In a bid to boost sales, we have lined up a huge manpower in advance to take care of sales and offer 24-hour loan services and one-day loan clearance period. I expect sales of over 19 lakh units in the festival seasons,” according to N R Narayanan, ICICI Bank’s group business head for vehicle finance.
Sources believe that since any dip in interest rates in not likely, financiers are likely to get less strict with loan norms, at least in certain pockets. Says Atul Gupta, V-P, marketing, Suzuki Motorcycle India, “Two-wheeler makers are banking on new launches for the festival season. Financiers have also assured us that they would take care that loans are available for potential customers so that at least that doesn’t deter consumers from buying.”
A senior official of a two-wheeler major added that most two-wheeler makers are likely to tie up with financier to offer 0% finance schemes which were stopped in the past due to reduction in dealer margins by rising interest rates. CitiFinancial India’s managing director Sandeep Soni said that his company will jointly collaborate with two-wheeler makers for some special promotional offers.
“Joint micromarketing activities with key dealers such as road shows and loan melas which will be continued with renewed thrust and special care would be taken for turnaround time,” he said.
All major two wheeler companies are trying to woo customers by launching new products. Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI) has refreshed it’s entire scooter range — Activa, Deo and Eterno — for the coming festive season. “We have introduced new designs and graphics on our scooter range, which will be available to customer in next few days. These new changes, based on customer feedback, will come along with our special finance schemes for the festive season.” HMSI GM, sales and marketing, N K Rattan said.
“We expect the festival season to contribute nearly 35% to the entire sales in the fiscal year. The stringent rules on loan disbursement will apply to only certain pockets where we feel consumer behaviour is not correct. In a bid to boost sales, we have lined up a huge manpower in advance to take care of sales and offer 24-hour loan services and one-day loan clearance period. I expect sales of over 19 lakh units in the festival seasons,” according to N R Narayanan, ICICI Bank’s group business head for vehicle finance.
Sources believe that since any dip in interest rates in not likely, financiers are likely to get less strict with loan norms, at least in certain pockets. Says Atul Gupta, V-P, marketing, Suzuki Motorcycle India, “Two-wheeler makers are banking on new launches for the festival season. Financiers have also assured us that they would take care that loans are available for potential customers so that at least that doesn’t deter consumers from buying.”
A senior official of a two-wheeler major added that most two-wheeler makers are likely to tie up with financier to offer 0% finance schemes which were stopped in the past due to reduction in dealer margins by rising interest rates. CitiFinancial India’s managing director Sandeep Soni said that his company will jointly collaborate with two-wheeler makers for some special promotional offers.
“Joint micromarketing activities with key dealers such as road shows and loan melas which will be continued with renewed thrust and special care would be taken for turnaround time,” he said.
All major two wheeler companies are trying to woo customers by launching new products. Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI) has refreshed it’s entire scooter range — Activa, Deo and Eterno — for the coming festive season. “We have introduced new designs and graphics on our scooter range, which will be available to customer in next few days. These new changes, based on customer feedback, will come along with our special finance schemes for the festive season.” HMSI GM, sales and marketing, N K Rattan said.
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