Car Makers Offer Huge Discounts In A Race To Improve Performance


BANGALORE: The fall in demand is creating adverse effect on the Indian passenger car market as mergers six of the 150 different models are presently on sale at their full ex-showroom price.

The discount offers presented by car companies have shot through the roof in March in an attempt to improve the sales at the fiscal end and boost their annual performance, reports Economic Times.

At present, prominent exception that are drawing customers to their full price  includes Honda City, Maruti DZire, Hyundai's i20 Elite, Ford EcoSport, Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Jetta. The remainder largely falls in the mercy of discount sales, failing to win customers, they are reduced to exchange bonuses, big deals on accessories to become sellable or simply handed out as freebees. The industry executives say that the Indian market in automobiles has received a depleting interest among its customers.

"There has been a consistent slowdown with only three top carmakers able to manage positive sales in the current fiscal. March is proving to be tough — retail sales are not picking up as corporate spend has dried up," says Rakesh Srivastava, senior VP, marketing and sales, at Hyundai Motors.

Market leader Maruti also agrees to the turn of profits where a number of models are models are running on discounts of up to 15% of the current (on-road) price, in exclusion to the newly-refreshed DZire. Executives affirm the steady decline after it gained some momentum in 2014. As a result, manufactures are hesitant to pull back the discounts.
"Market conditions are tough. Discounts have peaked as retail sales haven't picked up on a lack-lustre Budget for the industry, and we are battling to beat last year's sales to remain positive on the sales chart," said Maruti Suzuki executive director for RS Kalsi.

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