The factors causing this decline in expected sales range from Nepal Rastra Bank´s margin for lending in unproductive sectors like real estate and automobile, the uncertainty about the new budget and also lack of stable government. The outcome is visible as importers this year are not very busy dealing with their customers. [break]
Rupesh Sharma Bhatta, senior manager for development and planning at Laxmi Intercontinental - the official dealer for Hyundai cars in Nepal - said the sales of Hyundai cars at present is as it was on normal days.
Laxmi Intercontinental had not suffered from a steep downfall in sales even after the central bank put margin on lending to unproductive sectors. Probably, this is the company with the most constant sales of its cars in Nepal.
Vijay Motors -- the authorized dealer of Chevrolet -- is also passing through the same situation like Laxmi Intercontinental. “We are no seeing significant rise in sales even in July as the government as we don´t know when the full-fledged budget will come,” said Rabindra Raut, the general manager of sales and after sales at Vijay Motors.
Most of the automobile dealers are having a hard time as the sales of cars have not changed much when it should be at its peak. Some of the importers think that people might be taking it slow to get a new car as the full-fledged budget seems to be nowhere near due to the lack of stable government.
Morang Auto Works, the authorized dealer of Skoda cars -- also has the same story to share.
“Fabia is being sold better than our expectations. But the sales of sedan are almost constant,” Sumedh Shakya, the sales executive of Skoda Division under Morang Auto Works, said. “Enquiries for our cars have increased. But the usual pre-budget hurry for the purchase seems to have died down.”
Sachin Aryal, the sales manager of Continental Trading - the authorized dealer of Kia Motors in Nepal - said the sales were beginning to pick up before the PM tendered his resignation. “But persisting uncertainty over formation of the government and the full-fledged budget for the coming fiscal has again resulted to the slowdown of sales,” Aryal said.
Car dealers also say the sales of four-wheelers at this time of year is less than half of what it used to be in past few years even though almost every company has faced a slight increase in sales than it was in the last few months.
Pramod Dhungel, the sales manager at Nemlink International - the official dealer of Perodua vehicles, said they have been losing customers due to the increasing bank interest rates. “Either the customer pays for the car in a down payment or we have to cancel the sales of a booked car,” Dhungel added.
However, the sales of cars from Maruti Suzuki at present have increased by about 60 percent than the last few months.
“Many people anticipate that the price of four-wheelers will increase after the budget speech. This has resulted to rise in sales,” said Anuja Shrestha, senior sales executive at Arun Intercontinental -- the authorized dealer for Maruti Suzuki cars in Nepal.
Importers as well as the probable buyers are concerned on whether or not the government will further raise the duty on import of vehicles that is already high up. Some people say the absence of pre-budget rush in automobile showroom is because the price is not going to increase any further.
Related story
Desperate search for missing girls as nearly 80 dead in Texas f...
