Discounts galore as carmakers try to woo customers

Maruti is offering discounts of up to Rs 25,000 on petrol variant of its latest model Ertiga

Exchange scheme for two-wheeler with a Tata Nano; discount of up to Rs 50,000 on diesel sedan SX4 from Maruti Suzuki; free insurance with some of the models from Ford and Honda -- desperate times, desperate measures.

 

Reeling under prolonged spell of declining sales, major car makers in India are offering a variety of schemes, ranging from cash discounts to buyback benefits to special interest rates, to bring back customers back to the showrooms.

 

"Tata Nano customers can avail an exchange scheme which also has a 2-wheeler exchange programme," a Tata Motors spokesperson told PTI.

 

There is also a offer on the Safari Storme which provides a bonus of Rs 30,000, for existing Tata customers. The company is also offering a Rs 15,000 exchange bonus on the Tata Sumo.

 

"In the hatchback segment we are currently offering an exchange scheme on the Tata Vista. In addition we are associating with HDFC and TMF (Tata Motor Finance) to offer a 3.99% interest rate on the Tata Manza Club class," the spokesperson added.

 

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is also not far behind in coming out with schemes to woo customers. It is offering cash discounts across models with the highest of Rs 50,000 on diesel variant of sedan SX4.

 

The country's largest car-maker said discount of Rs 30,000 could be availed on all variants of hatchback WagonR, Rs 28,000 on the Alto800, Rs 24,000 on Alto K10 and Rs 25,000 on all variants of Ritz. The lowest discount is on Omni van at Rs 7,500.

 

Besides, the carmaker is offering discounts of up to Rs 25,000 on petrol variant of its latest model Ertiga.

 

It is, however, not giving any discount on Swift and Dzire models. Instead, it has launched special editions of both the models to prop up sales.

 

Other car-makers like like Ford India and Honda Cars India are offering free insurance on most of their models.

 

Volkswagen, on the other hand is asking customers to pay only 20% in advance and the remaining amount in 36 EMIs, as companies desperately try to boost sales.