The BSE Auto index plunged 3.31% to 4,460.

Ashok Leyland tumbled over 8% to Rs 29.  Apollo Tyres and MRF plunged 6.5% each to Rs 29 and Rs 3,370, respectively.

Tata Motors slipped 5.5% to Rs 283. Mahindra & Mahindra shed 3.5% at Rs 710.

Maruti Suzuki was down 2% to Rs 1,035.
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(Updated 1540 hrs)

An excise duty cut on big cars failed to enthuse the shares of auto firms as the scrips plunged in sync with the broader market, which nosedived on concerns of widening of fiscal deficit.

Shares of leading auto firms, including Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra & Mahindra, fell into the negative zone on the stock exchanges after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented his Budget speech.

The shares of Maruti Suzuki dropped as much as 6% to an intra-day low of Rs 991.50 on the National Stock Exchange, but was later trading at Rs 1,027, down three per cent in the late afternoon trade.

Marketmen said that the auto stocks were trading in the negative territory as the Budget proved to be a disappointment and on concerns of widening of fiscal deficit, even as the Finance Minister proposed a reduction in excise duty for large cars and trucks.

The BSE Auto index was trading down 2.5% to 501.74.

The BSE Sensex was trading down 5.01 per cent at 14,165.36 points in the late afternoon trade, while the NSE Nifty index was also trading down 5% at 4,202.25.

The Finance Minister in his Budget presentation today reduced additional excise duty on those with engine capacities of 2,000cc and above by Rs 5,000 per unit.

It also cut the duty of petrol-driven trucks to 8% from 20% at present.

Tata Motors, which plunged to a low of Rs 288.65, was trading down 3% at Rs 292.05 on the NSE.

Ashok Leyland scrip plunged 6.89% to a low of Rs 29.70, M&M plunged over 4%, Hero Honda (2%) and Bajaj Auto (down 2% ) in afternoon trade on the NSE.

Further, excise duty on petrol driven trucks or lorries would be reduced to 8% from 20%.

Fiscal deficit in 2009-10 is proposed at 6.8% of GDP, the Finance Minister said.

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