Tata Motors, General Motors India to reduce vehicle prices

"GM India will pass on the excise duty relief to its consumers and is currently studying the fine print to determine the exact amount across its car lines," General Motors India Vice- President P Balendran said.

Earlier in the day, Chidambaram announced cut in excise duty across various segments of automobiles in order to give a boost to the industry that has been on a prolonged slump.

Excise duty on small cars, scooters, motorcycles and commercial vehicles will come down to 8 per cent from 12 per cent earlier.

SUVs will attract excise duty of 24 per cent as against 30 per cent earlier.

Excise duty on large cars will now be 24 per cent compared with 27 per cent earlier, while the duty on mid-sized cars will go down to 20 per cent from 24 per cent previously. The excise duty cut will be applicable up to June 20, 2014.

Reacting to the announcement, market leader Maruti Suzuki India MD and CEO K Ayukawa said the Finance Minister's announcement was a much needed initiative.

"We hope it will revive sentiment, and encourage people to buy automobiles. With passenger vehicle industry in negative zone this year, this was a much needed step," he added.

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) President Vikram Kirloskar said the reduction in excise duty would reduce price thereby making vehicles more affordable which would improve the consumer sentiment and hopefully revive the demand for vehicles.

"This could hopefully herald a revival of the manufacturing sector in the days to come," he added.

Honda cars India Sr Vice President - Marketing and Sales, Jnaneswar Sen, termed the interim budget positive for the auto sector with across the board excise duty cuts.

"These reductions will propel demand in the coming months and anchor support for a better first quarter. It will give a much needed boost to the industry as it looks to recover from the ongoing slow down," he added.