It is raining discounts in the passenger cars and two-wheelers market. The benefits, including exchange bonus and discounts, range from ₹50,000 to ₹1,50,000 depending on the brand and the manufacturer. But these schemes will not apply to newly launched cars and SUVs.
Tata Motors, for example, is offering benefits of up to ₹1.5 lakh while Hyundai’s benefits range from ₹65,000-95,000 depending on the model.
Maruti Suzuki, the biggest car maker, has cut prices of several models by ₹5,000 to pass on the benefit of reduction in corporate tax by the government. This is apart from the discounts being offered by the company and its dealers.
Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto has already advertised benefits of up to ₹7,200 per motorcycle while Honda Motorcycles is planning to announce its scheme shortly.
Car sales have been declining for nine months, and last month the passenger vehicles sales had dropped by around 40% causing concern.
Automakers are laden with unsold stock at factories and dealerships and with the GST Council not reducing rates on automobiles, manufacturers are dropping prices and rolling out the red carpet to buyers to clear their inventory.
“ Our offerings this year are bigger and better than the previous year and by far the best in the industry,” said S.N Barman, Vice-President, Sales, Marketing & Customer Support, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors.
“We have received a tremendous response from customers during Onam and Ganesh Chaturthi. We are hopeful that this year’s festive offers will provide a huge boost to the buyer morale,” he added.
“Post the GST decision, there has been good pick up in inquiries. Now that monsoon has been good and banks as well as NBFCs have come forward with retail lending, we are hopeful of demand pick up. These offers are one of the best ever and we expect good sales during the festive period,” said Ashish Kale, President, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA)
“Bookings have started picking up and deliveries will commence from September 29 and only then the actual response can be ascertained. But the indication is good,” Mr Kale said.
Even luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India has joined the benefits party. It has introduced mobility solutions ‘Wishbox’ which is a compilation of customised financial solutions to help customers buy a new car. These include low or zero down payment. The exact benefits could not be established.
Hyundai Motor India is offering benefits of up to ₹95,000 on Grand i10, ₹65,000 on Elite i20, ₹65,000 on Santro and ₹80,000 on Creta, besides offering 4 years extended warranty.
Tata Motors is offering benefits of ₹85,000 on Nexon, ₹1,50,000 on Hexa, ₹70,000 on Tiago, ₹1,15,000 on Tigor and ₹50,000 on the recently launched Harrier.
Maruti Suzuki has offered benefits starting from ₹65,000 on the Alto to ₹1.01 lakh on the Brezza. Analysts said there was no other option but to offer deep discounts to exhaust the inventory before the BSVI norms kick in with effect from April 1, 2020. They said the discounts were required to prop up sales.
