After a dismal start to the crucial festive season, automakers are coming up with consumer-friendly initiatives to beat the slowdown blues it has been facing for over a year. While some manufacturers are offering hefty discounts on its vehicles to revive demand, others are shifting focus to innovative solutions such as leasing services and subscription-based ownership model.
The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) is offering benefits of up to Rs 1.13 lakh on vehicles sold through its Nexa dealerships.
The company sells models like Ignis, Baleno, Ciaz, S-Cross and the recently-launched XL6 from its Nexa channel. The maximum offer is on its S-Cross model where total savings amounts to Rs 1.13 lakh, including Rs 50,000 consumer offer, Rs 30,000 exchange offer and Rs 10,000 corporate offer.
Besides, the total savings on other models such as Maruti Suzuki Ignis is Rs 57,000, while on the petrol variant of hatchback Baleno and Ciaz, total savings is pegged at Rs 35,000 and Rs 65,000, respectively.
Similarly, Tata Motors is also offering benefits of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on models such as Nexon, Hexa, Tiago, Tiago NRG, Tigor and the recently launched Harrier. Benefits of up to Rs 1.5 lakh can be availed for Tata Hexa, Rs 1.15 lakh on Tigor, Rs 85,000 for Nexon, Rs 70,000 for Tiago and Rs 65,000 for Tiago NRG under its ‘Festival of Cars’ campaign.
Tata also tied up with multiple banks and financial institutions for offering up to 100 per cent on-road finance and low EMI finance packages for its vehicles during this Diwali season. “We are hopeful that this year’s festive offers will provide a huge boost to buyer’s morale, thus cultivating for them a strong sense of association with our brand,” S N Barman - Vice President, Sales, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors said.
The festival season is critical for auto companies as it comprises about a third of total annual vehicle sales. This year, however, these firms are just hoping the auspicious period to put an end to the free fall.
According to Siam, domestic auto sales for August plunged 25 per cent year-on-year, with MSIL registering 33 per cent decline in volume year-on-year. Tata Motors also reported a 58 per cent decline in its domestic passenger vehicle sales at 7,316 units in August.
Besides a huge discount, carmakers are also increasing their presence in the shared mobility space and coming up with new solutions to generate demand.
Earlier this month, Honda Cars India (HCIL), apart from giving huge discount on its models, announced the launch of its new car leasing services in association with Orix, a car leasing and rental company. As a part of this association, leasing options will be available for Honda CR-V, Honda Civic and Honda City for both corporate customers and individual customers. Rajesh Goel, senior Vice-President and Director, Sales and Marketing, HCIL, said, “Car leasing is gaining popularity in India. It enables customers to enjoy the perks of using a car without having to purchase it.”
Then after, SUV maker Mahindra and Mahindra launched a new subscription-based service for retail customers where a buyer can own a Mahindra SUV for a monthly subscription fee instead of buying it for the full price of the vehicle. Mahindra has offered XUV500, XUV300, Scorpio, TUV300, Marazzo, Alturas G4 and KUV100 NXT at a monthly subscription fee beginning at Rs 19,720.