Farmers Movement Archive

Sale of vehicles up in Tamil Nadu, more than September 2019

CHENNAI: Sales of two-wheelers and cars have increased in Tamil Nadu with more than 1.7 lakh new vehicles hitting the road last month a 17.8% increase compared to September 2019. Stakeholders primarily attributed this to lack of adequate public transport such as buses and trains even after relaxation of Covid lockdown norms and reopening of offices and industries. “Chennai carries 36 lakh people on buses every day. Without any public transport these people had to look for other modes of travel and hence the steep increase in private vehicle growth,” said J Sivasubramaniam from Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). “It’s important for the city now to bounce back with improved public transport services to gain back these riders.” S Rajvel, state chairperson of Federation of Automobile Dealers Association, said though sales almost came to a standstill in March and April, almost all dealers in Tamil Nadu except those in Chennai have achieved similar half-yearly turnovers (till September) because of the increased sales in the last eight weeks. In Chennai, many are working from home. But those who vacated the capital city and moved to their native places needed bikes for their daily commute. This is why dealers in the districts recorded a 20%-25% increase in sales, he said. The demand for two-wheelers was so high in the state that the price of second-hand vehicles almost doubled in smaller towns. “For instance, one of my customers, who was confused about buying a new bike, sold his old one for Rs 20,000 and used the same as down payment for his new two-wheeler loan,” said Muthu Mani, a showroom owner in Madurai. While private vehicle registration growth was less than 20%, tractor sales recorded a 92.52% increase. As many as 3,731 new tractors got registered in September. While the government attributed this to growth in the agriculture sector by referring to cultivation data, some farmers in Tamil Nadu don’t agree. B Tulsi Narayanan, Tiruvallur district secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, said most of the new tractors were used as trailers for industries rather than as tillers for cultivation. “However, some youngsters, who returned to their native place, bought a tractor hoping that they can not only plough their own field and reduce expenses but also outsource it. They saw it is a substitute trade,” he said. Also, around 20,000 Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) vehicles, which were purchased last year, got registered only now, according to official data. Union road ministry had barred the registry of BS-IV engines after March 31 due to reduce pollution. But the Supreme Court relaxed this rule later.

The Times of India

2020-10-09

Chennai