Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, the No. 2 two-wheeler OEM in India, has announced relief measures aimed at supporting its sales and service business partners across India as the nation-wide lockdown enters its third week.
The company says with its unprecedented scale and subsequent nationwide lockdown, Covid-19 has severely impacted the business continuity of dealer partners, who were already under immense pressure due to the 16-month-long demand industry slowdown.
Elaborating on how Honda plans to ensure support to its dealer partners in these uncertain times, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, director – Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said, “In this challenging times, Honda 2Wheelers India has extended an exhaustive financial support package for its dealers. The support package will effectively provide immediate liquidity to our dealer partners and we are confident that it will comprehensively ease their business continuity anxiety and improve cash flow. Providing yet another major support, Honda shall also bear the interest cost of the BS-VI vehicles inventory at all its dealers for the entire 21-day lockdown period.”
In addition, the support measures announced include advance payments of incentives and reimbursements across the 3 functions (sales, service and spare parts), buyback of all BS IV inventory lying unsold with few dealers majorly in Delhi NCR area; and also entirely bearing the interest cost of BS VI inventory (physical and transit) with the dealers for the 21 days of nationwide lockdown.
The OEM is also giving out additional sales incentives to eligible dealers and dealer employees and reimbursements too for every two-wheeler sold. The two-wheeler maker had earlier announced extension of timeline by two months to customers whose free service and warranty was scheduled during lockdown (March 15 to April 15). Honda says it also released payments approximately amounting to Rs 1,700 crore to all its suppliers, dealers and service providers on time. This further eased the liquidity crunch that its business partners faced due to the sudden Covid-19 lockdown situation, and supported them for timely payment of March salaries to their workforce and vendors. HMSI, plans to disburse the support payments by April 15.
In addition, Honda and many of its dealer partners, are working proactively to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. On April 1, Honda India Foundation - the CSR arm of Honda Group companies in India pledged Rs 11 crore aid towards Covid-19 relief and preventive measures. Furthermore, Honda staffers across all 5 Honda group companies too have voluntarily pledged to donate a day’s salary towards the total relief aid. Across India, dealers too have contributed through free distribution of meals and food grains to the needy, free masks and sanitiser distribution, funds donation to State and Central government among others.