Suzuki Motorcycle India on Friday tied-up with HDB Financial Services (HDBFS) for retail financing of the Suzuki bikes and scooters.

 

As part of the association with the non-banking finance company, customers can now get an instant approval for loans with nominal documentation at a very competitive interest rate, Suzuki Motorcycle India said in a release. It also offers added benefits like free roadside assistance, loyalty card, among others, to a customers buying a new vehicle from the company, it added.

 

HDB Financial Services, which offers secured and unsecured loans to new two-wheeler buyers, has a network across 22 states and three union territories.

 

“Our association with HDB Financial Services is a part of our plan to provide customised and easy retail finance offers to the customers. The tie-up is a step to provide ease to customers in getting the vehicle financed without any hassle. We believe that this partnership is commencing at an appropriate time with the high demand festive season just round the corner,” said Devashish Handa, Vice President. It will further the growth story of Suzuki Motorcycle India which has been an exception to the downturn being experienced by the rest of the automotive manufacturers over the last six months, he added.

 

The domestic automotive industry is in dire straits and sending SoS to the government amid the worst slowdown in nearly two decades.

 

According to Automobile dealers' body FADA retail sales of passenger vehicles (PV) in July declined 11 per cent to 2,43,183 units against 2,74,772 units in the same period last year.

 

Two-wheeler sales declined by 5 per cent to 13,32,384 units last month as compared with 14,03,382 units in the year-ago period.

 

While the commercial vehicle sales dropped by 14 per cent to 23,118 units against 26,815 units in July last year, the three-wheeler sales saw an increase of 3 per cent to 55,850 units last month from 54,250 units in the same period last year.

 

The slump in sales has also led to the manufacturers cutting down productions and handing over pink slips to employees and closing down of retail showrooms.

According to FADA, nearly 300 dealers have gone out of the business in the last past one-and-half years.

 

Around 25 lakh people were employed directly through around 26,000 automobile showrooms operated by 15,000 dealers, it said.