Following changes brought to regulations, companies selling motorcycles have ceased issuing vehicles on installment basis.
Following changes brought to regulations, companies selling motorcycles have ceased issuing vehicles on installment basis.
The new regulations state that motorcycles cannot be registered under the seller. Even if the motorcycles are sold under an installment scheme, the vehicle must be registered in the owner's name. With this, license plates will all be 'P' (private) boards instead of 'C' (company) boards.
With this change in regulation being implemented, main sellers of motorcycles in Maldives have decided that they will no longer issue vehicles on installment basis.
Sheesha, one of the leading motorcycle sellers, said that with the sudden change in regulations, they have temporarily stopped issuing motorcycles under installment schemes.
The company said that while they stopped the installment scheme about a month ago, this has caused their sales to go down by about 50 percent. On average, the company sells about 20 motorcycles on installment basis.
Expert Motor Services manager Ahmed Abu Bakr also said that they, too, have stopped issuing motorcycles on installment basis, which has adversely affected sales.
He said that a request has now been made to discuss the issue with the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. He further said that the company is seeking new models to conduct the business under if it is no longer feasible to issue motorcycles on installment schemes.
If a motorcycle is registered in the name of the buyer, then the seller faces difficulties in reclaiming the vehicle in the instance of non-payment of installments. Even with the current practice of registering installment scheme vehicles under the company until the full amount is paid, court processes to recover unpaid installments are long and tedious, the companies say. The regulation change would further exacerbate the financial losses that companies may face in such instances.
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