GST reforms: Tax cut and 'Navaratri' bring cheer to car showrooms

Maruti Suzuki got 80,000 enquiries and delivered over 25,000 cars

A family of four on Monday took delivery of its first car — a Maruti Wagon R — at a used-car showroom in Mulund, an eastern suburb of Mumbai.

 

The family has two two-wheelers — a scooter and a bike — and it had booked its first car a few weeks ago because it got a good “deal” from

the showroom.

 

“I got this for ₹2.8 lakh, with easy financing options, and the dealer helped me get a deal for my bike too. We also got free accessories worth ₹5,000 with the car,” said the visibly happy buyer, who works in a computer hardware shop in the neighbourhood.

 

The new Wagon-R costs more than ₹4.98 lakh.

 

Navaratri opened to high sentiment in dealerships across the country — be it for used or new cars.

 

Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (marketing & sales), Maruti Suzuki India, said the company had 80,000 enquiries on the first day and exceeded 25,000 car deliveries till 8 pm. They are likely to touch 30,000 units by end of the day as showrooms will remain open till late night.

 

“The response has been good and we have not seen such enthusiasm in the past 35 years. Since we announced price cuts on September 18, we have to date got 75,000 bookings. This is roughly 50 per cent more than the bookings happening earlier,” Banerjee told reporters, adding that after rationalisation in goods and services tax, bookings for small cars had been good.

 

C S Vigneshwar, president, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, said sentiment in retail showrooms was encouraging.

 

“Day 1 is too early to comment on how the festival period would be. Dealers I spoke to saw enhanced enquiries and bookings. We are hoping for a good period,” he said.

 

A Tata Motors dealer in an eastern suburb said the plan was to keep the showroom open till late night.

 

“We had several phone queries and many people have taken test drives. Those conversions are likely to begin from now on. We have several cars in transit from the company, which will reach us in eight days for Dussehra deliveries.”

 

Tarun Garg, whole-time director and chief operations officer, Hyundai Motor India, said: “On Day 1 alone, Hyundai Motor India recorded around 11,000 dealer billings, which is our highest single-day performance in the past five years. This is a clear testament to robust festive sentiment and customer confidence.”

 

Amit Kamat, chief commercial officer, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said there was a “sharp surge” in enquiries and bookings, with a noticeable increase in showroom walk-ins, higher conversions, and growing order books.

 

Kamat said with the “strong pipeline of bookings and scheduled deliveries”, the organisation was geared up to meet the festival demand and was optimistic about setting new records this festival season.

 

Rajesh Menon, director-general, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, said the auto industry joined the Prime Minister’s “GST Bachat Utsav”, which commenced on Monday. “Lower GST rates will make vehicles more affordable, especially in the entry-level segment, significantly benefiting first-time buyers and middle-income families,” he added. Besides the new car segment, used cars witnessed significant traction on the first day of Navaratri. CARS24, India’s leading autotech platform, reported a 400 per cent jump in deliveries by 2 pm over an average day. The platform recorded over 5,000 inspections in the day, the highest in the last four years.

 

The Day 1 numbers show buyers are rushing to book entry-level hatchbacks like the Maruti Swift, Hyundai GrandI10, and Maruti Ritz, with many being first-time customers, CARS24 said.

 

Compact sport utility vehicles such as the Honda Elevate and Maruti Suzuki Brezza saw the sharpest growth (25 per cent higher than normal).

 

Mid-size sedans like the Hyundai Verna and Maruti Suzuki Dzire regained traction.

 

Most cars were bought in Delhi-National Capital Region, followed by Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai.

 

“Behind every number today is a family story: A father taking his kids for their first drive, a young couple celebrating their first big purchase, parents upgrading to something safer for their children. If this is just Day 1 of Navaratri, I can’t wait to see how many more lives we can touch in the days ahead,” said Himanshu Ratnoo, chief executive officer (India), CARS24.