Festival season cheer on hold as auto buyers await GST relief and discounts

Festival offers are already running with benefits between ₹1.5 lakh and ₹2 lakh on some models

Automobile dealers are bracing for a hesitant start to the festival season, with bookings and showroom visits slipping by 25 per cent in the latter half of August. Many customers, they said, are delaying purchases in anticipation of a cut in goods and services tax (GST), prompting some dealers to roll out extra discounts in a bid to draw them in. 

Last Wednesday, members of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada) met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, raising concerns that buyers could postpone purchases until tax changes are confirmed and come into effect. 

The GST Council, meeting for