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      Auto makers luring customers by offering freebies and goodies in India

      CarTrade Editorial Team

      CarTrade Editorial Team

      Considering the fact that sales in the Indian auto market are going down, a number of car makers have pulled up their socks to revive volumes. Being a last resort, the auto makers have come up with a number of freebies and goodies for their potential customers, which might fetch some decent volumes and eventually decrease their inventory pileup. Buyers are being offered a number of discounts, free trips, cash offers and freebies, whose value starts from around Rs. 30000 to almost Rs. 2 lakhs on premium models.

      Heading the bandwagon, the German auto maker Volkswagen has offered a unique discount on its Vento sedan. Interested buyers have to just pay half of the model’s price upfront against its normal tag of around Rs. 8 lakh, whereas the remaining balance will have to be paid in the next year. Next in the list is country’s largest auto maker, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), which is offering a 3-day paid trip in India on the purchase of its iconic model Alto800. In order to avail this trip, buyers have to pay just Rs. 1,399 as security charge, which will be not refunded.

      Expressing his views on this trend, the Vice President (Marketing & Sales) at Hyundai Auto India, Rakesh Srivastava, said, “The fresh bouquet of schemes has fired up the market. We haven't seen such rebates and interest schemes in the past four years. We expect to gain sales momentum in the last week to register decent tally in February.”

      The Japanese auto maker, Toyota is offering its Etios model against 3 Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI) at almost a negligible interest rate. On the same lines, Honda India has set an interest rate of 0.01 per cent on the purchase of its Brio hatchback and City sedan. In addition, the auto maker is also offering luring discounts to its prospective customers who are using its scooters or bikes and are willing to upgrade to a 4-wheeler by providing massive loyalty bonus.

      On this move, the Senior Vice President (Marketing & Sales) of Honda, Jnaneshwar Sen was quoted as saying, “We are tapping the larger customer base of the two-wheeler market by offering loyalty bonus of up to Rs 20,000 a car to anyone owning a Honda branded motorcycle or scooter.”

      Industry experts believe that auto makers are in full swing to reduce their inventories by boosting sales in a muted market, which will also help them to meet their fiscal sales targets. It is anticipated that their commitments are forcing the auto companies to offer freebies and goodies to the domestic buyers, who already are battling with the increasing inflation and fuel prices.