VIJAYAWADA: At a time when all the small and large scale industries are facing a tough time to recover after lockdown, the second-hand automobile sales in Vijayawada is seeing a boom as there is an increased demand for second-hand two-wheelers and four-wheelers during the Unlock 1.0. This is attributed to lack of public transportation, public preferring to travel in personal vehicles and also due to fear of contracting the virus. On Monday, when TNIE visited Arundalpet, the city’s largest second-hand two-wheeler’s market, it was abuzz with activity as the public in large numbers visited the auto consultant agencies looking for budget-friendly vehicles.
‘’We faced tough time during the lockdown period. It is only now, we started receiving orders,’’ N Avinash, owner of Somnath Finance told TNIE. He further said post-lockdown, public are finding it difficult to purchase brand new vehicles as there is a steep hike due to the launch of BS-VI variant.
“Before the lockdown, usually five persons visit our agency per day enquiring about the prices of vehicles but now the number has increased to 10. Most of the public, especially the working class, are preferring budget-friendly vehicles ranging between `20,000 and `50,000 as they can easily clear monthly instalments,” he observed.
Another dealer, Ch Simhadri of Sri Gayatri Auto Consultants said, “Despite a huge demand for second-hand vehicles among the public, we are finding it hard to cash in on the demand as we are out of stock. Somehow, we are managing to get the vehicles to cover the losses suffered during the lockdown period.”
Similar is the case with the second-hand cars in the city as the coronavirus pandemic has driven the demand for cars ranging between `2 and `5 lakh.
“Initially, I thought of purchasing a Bullet bike, but when I can get a second-hand car with the same amount, I had a change of mind,’’ said A Lava Kumar, an MNC employee, adding that he purchased a 2015 model hatchback car at `3.5 lakh. ‘’After the lockdown, our second-hand car sales business increased by 40 per cent as many families are preferring used cars,’’ said Abdul Aziz, owner of Elite Cars at Eluru Road.
“Earlier, we used to sell around 5-10 used cars per month, but in June alone, we sold 25 used cars. We are asking the customers only to pay a small amount as down payment for purchasing the vehicle and the remaining can be paid through finance provided by the banks and private companies. Customers having a proper track record and good credit score are given loans by the banks, while those having poor credit scores are availing loans from moneylenders,” Aziz said.