The imposition of higher taxes on diesel vehicles is not going to happen anytime soon. Therefore, several auto makers are offering heavy discounts on their diesel model line-ups, enabling Indian buyers to rejoice the fact that they have to shell out less money in the moment.
Models like Tata Indica, Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Micra, Maruti Suzuki SX4, Ritz, Fiat Punto and Mahindra Verito are presently offered with discounts; however, the period is uncertain. In few cases, the discounts on some models are up to Rs. 50,000.
On the new trend followed by car makers, President and Managing Director of Ford Motor India, Michael Boneham, quoted, “We are offering discounts on diesel models in-line with the market competition. The slowing demand curve has affected sales of diesel cars too and these rebates are expected to keep the sales ticking.”
In the last few months, sales of diesel models grew at a swift pace, banking on the advantages of better achieved mileage. However, the demand has dwindled off late and every model was not enjoying the same demand among auto buyers.
On the other hand, diesel models of Maruti Suzuki Swift and DZire, Hyundai i20 and Verna, and Tata Indigo CS are still rejoicing with a waiting period of as high as 6-8 months in the Indian auto market. In fact, the bookings of Maruti Suzuki Swift crossed 1.25 lac mark and 65,000 for the DZire model, which was mainly driven by the month-long lockout at its Manesar facility.
The situation mentioned above clearly describes that some of the auto makers are witnessing heavy demand for their diesel models, while some are facing not-so-good times and thus, they are forced to offer freebies and goodies on their few models to strike the right chords with the sentiments of Indian buyers.
