It's raining discounts as carmakers woo customers ahead of GST

New Delhi: As customers wait for prices to come down after GST implementation, automobile companies are wooing them with attractive limited period discounts of up to Rs 2.5 lakh across a range of vehicles sold in the country.

Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Mahindra and Mahindra and Ford India have all come out with different schemes that are valid for June only.

Dealers of the country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, are offering discounts between Rs 25,000 and Rs 35,000. The highest discount is offered on its entry-level hatchback Alto.

Similarly, M&M is offering benefits ranging between Rs 27,000 on Scorpio to Rs 90,000 on XUV500 till June 30.

Hyundai Motor India dealers are offering discounts ranging between Rs 25,000 on Elite i20 and all-new Xcent to Rs 2.5 lakh on premium SUV SantaFe.

Besides, it is offering discount of Rs 45,000 on entry level model Eon, up to Rs 73,000 on Grand i10 and Rs 90,000 on mid-sized sedan Verna.

Honda Cars India, on the other hand, is offering up to Rs 14,500 discount on its hatchback Brio, Rs 50,000 on compact sedan Amaze, Rs 17,000 on premium hatchback Jazz and Rs 60,000 on B-RV under a special scheme valid during June.

"We are giving price protection to the customers for cars retailed from June 10 to June 30 which means that customers will buy the car at pre-GST price now. Post GST implementation whatever the difference in ex-showroom price it will be returned back to the customer by the dealer," a Honda Cars India spokesperson said.

Ford India is offering discounts of up to Rs 30,000 on its compact SUV EcoSport, sedan Aspire and hatchback Figo to pass on benefits of new tax rates under GST.

The company is offering discount on EcoSport in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000. On the other hand, Figo and Aspire are cheaper in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000, depending on the variant.

Japanese carmaker Nissan's dealers are also offering benefits of up to Rs 80,000 on sports utility vehicle Terrano and around Rs 25,000 on small car Micra.

Industry analysts said the companies have been forced to come up with the discounts as potential customers have held back on purchases expecting prices to come down after the implementation of GST.

Under the GST rates, cars will attract the top rate of 28 per cent with a cess in the range of 1-15 per cent on top of it.

While small petrol cars with engine less than 1,200 cc will attract 1 per cent cess, that with a diesel engine of less than 1,500 cc will attract 3 per cent cess.

Large cars with engine greater than 1,500 cc and SUVs with length more than 4 metres and engine greater than 1,500 cc will attract a cess of 15 per cent.

German luxury car maker Audi has already slashed prices of its models in India by up to Rs 10 lakh till June 30. Rival BMW also said it is offering "benefits up to 12 per cent" on ex-showroom prices that include GST benefits, depending on choice of the model.

Besides, Mercedes Benz has announced reduction of prices of its vehicles produced in India by up to Rs 7 lakh.

Tata-Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has cut prices of select models by up to Rs 10.9 lakh with immediate effect to pass on benefits of new tax rates under GST.

In the two-wheeler space, niche bike maker Royal Enfield is pre-emptively extending the GST benefits to its customers and is ready to implement the on-road price revision on purchases beginning June 17 on products where applicable.

Already, Bajaj has announced reduction in prices of its motorcycles by up to Rs 4,500 with immediate effect to pass on the expected benefit of GST to customers.