Auto companies are offering mega year-end discounts on BS-IV models, ranging from Rs. 40,000 to over Rs. 5,00,000, to clear inventory. Companies offer high discounts in December as new year consumers do not prefer buying a vehicle bearing a manufacturing date of the previous year.
Apart from fat cash discounts, manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai India, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda Cars are handing out attractive exchange bonus and offering assured buyback options. While similar offers were available throughout the year, the December bonanza is the biggest as manufacturers look to liquidate BS-IV inventory before the new emission standards (BS-VI) kick in from April 2020.
Maruti has kept most of the offers similar to what it had given during the festive season, as over half of its models are already BS-VI compliant with very limited BS-IV stock left.
Despite this, discounts on popular cars like the Alto and Dzire are Rs. 40,000 and Rs. 65,000, respectively. Baleno and Ciaz are coming with cash discounts of Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 80,000. A Maruti Suzuki spokesperson said having introduced the first BS-VI models in April 2019, the company got the early mover advantage and almost 70% of the petrol sales are of BS-VI cars. “We are clear that the current levels of sales promotion is not sustainable and going forward, the discount levels will be calibrated,” the spokesperson told FE.
Maruti has already sold close to 4,00,000 BS-VI cars. Hyundai, which has named its year-end scheme ‘December Delight’, is offering Rs. 40,000 discounts on hatchback Santro and Rs. 65,000 on one of its highest selling models Creta. Compact sedan Xcent and mid-size sedan Verna are being offered with a cash discount of Rs. 70,000. Discounts on models like the Tucson and Elantra touched Rs. 2,00,000 in December.
Tata Motors’ new SUV Harrier can be bought at a discount of Rs. 1.5 lakh while Hexa is being offered at a Rs. 2.5-lakh discount, a company dealer said. While Mahindra is offering a Rs. 1.5 lakh discount on its flagship product the XUV500, the discount on the Marazzo is around Rs. 2 lakh.
Discounts on Amaze and CR-V by Honda Cars India is up to Rs 60,000 and Rs 500,000, respectively. Others auto companies, including Renault, Nissan and Toyota, have also lined up offers ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Ashish Kale, president of Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), said the offers in December are around 5% higher than the festive season. “During the festive season, the offers were mostly manufacturer driven but in December, dealers are also pitching in to liquidate stocks,” Kale said.
