Page 4 - Carmakers In India
Carmakers refrain from price hike despite surge in key input costs
Market leader Maruti sets the trend, says it will hike prices only when such a move becomes necessary
 "Carmakers refrain from price hike despite surge in key input costs")
Car sales rev up on festive spirit, despite cess bump
Car makers continue to see a growth in bookings and enquiries from customers in spite of an increase of up to seven per cent in cess more than a week ago. Manufacturers said the current demand is aided by the festive season and any negative impact of the cess may not be visible before November."The increase in cess is lower than what the manufacturers and customers were anticipating. We continue to see a growth and pickup in demand even after the cess turned effective from September 11. However, we are not sure if this trend will continue when the festive demand drops by end of October," said N Raja, director and senior vice-president (sales & marketing) at Toyota. About ninety per cent of Toyota's product portfolio has been impacted by the government's decision to hike cess on certain cars after announcing the first set of tax rates under the GST. It was widely expected that the GST Council will hike cess by ten per cent on sedans and sports utility vehicles. However, the Council
 "Car sales rev up on festive spirit, despite cess bump")
Carmakers Audi, BMW, Ford bring younger CEOs to driving seat
The youngest in the new lot is Rahil Ansari, 38, who is heading Audi in India since February
 "Carmakers Audi, BMW, Ford bring younger CEOs to driving seat")
