If you are in the market for a new car, this may be a good time to grab some offers, as almost all car dealers are throwing in discounts to clear inventory ahead of GST kicking in. But are the deals sweet enough to make you rush your car purchase? Here’s a spot check.
The goods and services tax (GST) will be implemented from 1 July 2017. This single all-encompassing tax will replace existing levies such as excise, VAT, infrastructure cess, luxury cess, green cess and state sales taxes. Because of this changeover in tax structure, dealers are trying to clear existing inventory they have as they fear they will not get input credits on these taxes once the new tax regime kicks in.
Also read: GST Effect: Jaguar Land Rover to Slash Prices up to Rs 10.9 Lakh
Why The Discounts?
Many cars are actually going to become cheaper once GST kicks in as well. So it is quite likely that buyers may defer their purchases to next month, which could put a slump on sales in June. Hence, to counter that, dealers are offering huge discounts that could match prices of cars after GST kicks in – so that they can move their existing stocks out of the showroom.
The Quint collected a list of discounts being offered on popular cars ahead of GST kicking in. Here are some of them.
Post GST, the proposed net tax on small petrol cars will be 29 percent (cars below 4 metres in length). Currently the total taxes on small cars across the country vary from 26 percent to 34 percent. On diesel cars it’s 27.5 percent to 35 percent currently, which will stabilise at 31 percent after GST.
Hence, Maruti is throwing in discounts of between Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 across models, with the biggest discount going for the Maruti Alto.
Also read: Splurge on These Pre-GST Deals While You Can
Hyundai is offering discounts across its range, except for some popular models like the Creta, which are in high demand. On the Rs 30 lakh Hyundai Santa Fe SUV, Hyundai is offering a discount of Rs 2.5 lakh. There are good discounts on the Hyundai Verna too as that car will be replaced by a facelifted model in August this year. The Grand i10 sees discounts of up to Rs 73,000 and Rs 45,000 on the Eon.
Honda is also offering serious discounts ahead of GST on its cars, more so on its SUVs. The Honda BR-V is available with a cash discount of up to Rs 60,000, while the Honda Amaze gets a flat Rs 50,000 off. There are no discounts on the Honda City, while the Brio gets a meagre Rs 14,500 off.
Also read: GST Rates: Fridges at 28%, Namkeen at 12% & Condoms for Nothing
There are a few discounts being offered by Nissan India as well. The company just launched a new Micra with a few new features. The Micra gets Rs 25,000 off. However, the Nissan Terrano gets a much larger discount of Rs 80,000.
Also read: GST Rates Finalised For Most Items, Milk & Cereals Exempted
Mahindra is offering quite a fat discount on some of its SUVs. The company has also reassured its dealers that it would absorb any negative difference in prices post GST, so as not to pass it on to the dealer or customer. It is offering a Rs 65,000 discount on the XUV500, up to Rs 36,000 on the TUV300 and Rs 30,000 on the KUV100. The discount on the Scorpio isn’t much though, at only Rs 6,000.
Ford India is offering discounts on the Ford EcoSport, Figo and Aspire. On the Ford Endeavour there is a discount of up to Rs 1 lakh, but nothing on the Mustang. On the Ford Aspire and Figo, the top-end variant gets Rs 25,000 off, while the base variant gets Rs 10,000 off. On the Ford EcoSport the discount ranges between Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.
Besides these car makers, some bikes are also offering discounts. Bajaj is offering Rs 4,500 off on its entire range. Royal Enfield is also offering discounts on its range, but there isn’t any fixed amount.
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