Car sales in Assam fall by up to 60 percent after Gauhati HC order

With the festive season approaching, the domestic automobile industry was looking to accelerate sales of passenger car models across the country. However, the state of Assam is proving to be a dampener as sales of small passenger cars have dropped by up to 60 percent in the past month, mostly in the state capital of Guwahati.

The drop in sales comes following the recent interim order by the Gauhati High Court in which it has asked the Central government ‘not to permit’ auto manufacturers to release and sell four-wheelers weighing up to 1,500kg and quadricycles in the state without putting them to crash-stage and emission tests. The HC order came in response of two PILs which sought the court’s intervention in upgrading the safety system in four- wheelers and quadricycles.

The northeastern states account for 12% of car sales in the country, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. 

The interim ban has come after three residents of Guwahati moved the court seeking its intervention in improving the safety measures in small cars in the country. 

Also read: Gauhati High Court bans sale of small passenger vehicles; SIAM files affidavit 

The high court order earlier observed, “It is the contention of the petitioners that the small passenger cars produced by Indian manufacturers don’t conform to the safety standards and put the vehicles to crash test (frontal impact test). Video demonstration is done in open court that the small cars manufactured in India have failed the crash test conducted by European new car assessment program (ENCAP). The test conducted in November 2014 has proved that frontal collision in a simulated state driven at a speed of 60 km per hour has proved dangerous to life of the driver and other inmates notwithstanding the seatbelt.” 

A leading passenger car brand’s authorised dealer in Guwahati, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Stocks are piling up in the showrooms. Sales of popular models like the Maruti Alto, Suzuki Swift, Hyundai i10, Eon and the Honda Jazz are heavily affected. My showroom had almost 300 bookings for Alto and Swifts to be delivered this month, which were halted due to the interim order.”

The blow to the automobile market does not stop here. Fearing any kind of controversy, the state transport department has directed all the district transport officers (DTO) across the state not to register any new four-wheeler vehicles that don't meet crash-test norms. 

Kamrup DTO, Gautam Das said, “Guwahati sold almost 14,000 to 18,000 vehicles every month during the last year which helped us to generate healthy revenues. But now we have stopped registration of four-wheelers till further notifications.”

The District Transport Office (Registration and Licensing), Kamrup Metro, Guwahati, has realised a record amount of revenue of Rs 110,20,22,284 from registration and licensing during 2014-15. The numbers are surely going to be affected, said a DTO official.

According to The National Crime Records’ Bureau (NCRB), at least 141,526 people were killed in road accidents across the country in 2014, while in Assam alone 2,522 people lost their lives in such mishaps.

Meanwhile, in a recent letter to SIAM, David Ward, secretary general of Global NCAP, wrote, “In the wake of the recent Assam Interim Court Order banning the sale of small four-wheelers that fail international crash tests, and ahead of the new occupant protection regulations being applied by the Indian Government from October 2017, Global NCAP respectfully encourages SIAM to take its own voluntary initiative on car safety.”

Currently, car OEMS in India are required to pass frontal crash test norms (which is also known as steering impact test), to be able to manufacture and sell cars. Stricter front offset crash tests are to begin in India, but not before 2017.

Major carmakers have been taken aback by situation in Assam and are trying to resolve it through SIAM. The matter comes up tomorrow (August 27) at the Gauhati high court. 

Photograph: Abhinav Borah

Also read: Global NCAP urges SIAM to adopt new safety standards after Gauhati HC interim order