Commercial vehicle sales is sure to see a come back, at least in the last quarter of this fiscal and the major boost up for the sector is the accelerated depreciation of 50% for commercial vehicles purchased on or between January-March 2009 announced by the Centre as part of the second stimulus package announced on Friday.

?Additional depreciation announced by the Centre is a very positive step as it gives additional incentive to customers to replace their existing vehicles or buy new ones in an effort to get rebate on income tax,? says Vinod Aggrawal, chief financial officer, Eicher Motors. ?In fact, people who were sitting on the fence and thinking as to whether buy it or not will surely do it in next three months and this will push up sales,? he adds.

?Some steps declared on Friday would help commercial vehicles; the government needs to take many more measures to substantially stoke demand as that has gone in a reverse gear. However, we will continue to expect more positive measures forthcoming from the government,? says Ravi Kant, managing director, Tata Motors. ?The stimulus package announced for the revival of the industry has also given a direct stimulus to sales of buses as states will be provided assistance under the JNNURM for the purchase of buses for their urban transport system,? says Dilip Chneoy, director general, Society of India Automobile Manufacturers.

Moreover, Centre?s move to work out an arrangement with leading public sector banks to provide a line of credit to NBFCs specifically for purchase of commercial vehicles is also expected to give a fillip to sales of commercial vehicles that have been reeling under the pressure of low economic activities.

?The decision to make an arrangement with public sector banks for a line of credit to NBFCs to buy commercial vehicles is also a welcome step, but its impact would depend on how it is put into implementation on the ground. We have already got feelers from the Indian Banks Association. We have been asked to give a list of NBFCs that finance commercial vehicles,? says Raman Aggarwal, director, Bansal Credits. Tata Motors registered a dip of 51% in sales of commercial vehicles in domestic market at 14,056 units in December as compared to 28,661 units during the same period last year. Even sales of Ashok Leyland were down by 66.7% in November at 1,788 units vis-?-vis 5,366 units during the corresponding month last year.