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

An interim order by the Gauhati High Court has put the brakes on sale of all passenger vehicles (M1 category) weighing upto 1500 kilograms. The interim order also includes quadricycles within the same weight range.  

The interim order, passed on July 26, was in response to petitions filed by three persons based in Guwahati. They cite low safety level of small cars in India as the reason for filing the petitions. The interim order, a copy of which is with Autocar Professional, came into effect in the market after the Assam Transport Department sent a directive to all district transport officers on August 6.

This move has severely affected automobile companies' sales in that region. Since the North East is a major market for small cars, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India are the most affected by the interim order. It is estimated that around 12,000 passenger vehicles are sold every month in Assam, a majority of them from Maruti Suzuki. Sales pick up pace during the local festive seasons which fall during September to November and March-April in the state. 

A dealer source points out that sales in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are also affected since these states come under the jurisdiction of the Gauhati High Court. 

The order can be seen as an impact of the results of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests last year where some cars from India failed to get any star rating. The Gauhati High Court cites the Euro NCAP test held in November 2014, in its interim order. The Gauhati High Court has “directed” the Central government “not to permit the auto manufacturers to relase and sell the small 4-wheelers with a mass of up to 1500 kilograms and quadri-cycles without putting them to crash test and emission test”.

SIAM files affidavit
Meanwhile, apex industry body The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is learnt to have filed an affidavit at the Gauhati High Court to highlight that all cars currently sold meet the existing safety and emission norms in India. An industry source says that the state transport authority may not be aware that the vehicles made in India meet the mandatory IS 11939 safety norms.

It is learnt that the next hearing on this issue could come up by the end of this month.

Photographs: Rupjyoti Dutta Phookan