According to the data received from Department of Transport Management (DoTM), 17,970 bikes were registered in Bagmati zone in the month of October-November whereas the sale was limited to 4,158 units in the month of September-October. [break]
"Sale of bikes in the last month is better than expected and it certainly indicated an improvement in the market conditions," said Saurabh Jyoti, president of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). Automobile market in the country has been facing a slump in sales for a year now.
The government has already collected Rs 389,950,099 in revenue from the Bagmati zone in the current fiscal year. "Sale was satisfactory this month except for the fact that we would prefer consistent growth instead of this scenario," said Jyoti. Because of the inconsistent growth this month, some automobile companies could not meet the market demand.
"We were not able to supply enough Pulsar 220 because the demand was much higher than we had expected," said Ashish Sharma, showroom manager of Bajaj Showroom, Teku.
Dealers cannot make an equilibrium with demand and supply in these haphazard conditions, which create a long-term problem to the companies. "Sometimes, even the market image of a brand can take some beating if supply is not enough," said Jyoti.
However, compared to last year´s figures for the same period, automobile market is not out of the troubled waters yet. Sales of two-wheelers have been hit by almost 20 percent.
In order to welcome improving market conditions, NADA along with the government bodies are working on road extension, traffic management, minimizing accidents and other road related issues. "As a part of our social corporate responsibility, we are working together to make it possible.
The government is also supportive and has allocated high amount of budget for road reforms," said Jyoti.
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