GST impact: Maruti Suzuki S-Cross prices slide by Rs 70,000

Ahead of the GST rollout on July 1, car makers are extending their price cuts to other offerings in their line-up. The latest to fall in the discounted range is Maruti Suzuki's premium crossover, the S-Cross.

Although Maruti Suzuki dealers have been offering cash discounts clubbed with many other offers on their car range like the Alto, Swift and WagonR, these offers were not available on the Nexa range. Now, a report by India.com says that the S-Cross crossover is being offered at a cash discount of Rs 70,000. It is not clear if the benefits will also be available on other models in the Nexa line-up.

Nexa is the brand's premium dealership in India.

Maruti Suzuki sells S-Cross, Baleno, Ignis and the Ciaz through Nexa. S-Cross is currently priced in the Rs. 8.79 lakh-Rs. 12.03 lakh range and it is still the most expensive offering from Maruti Suzuki.

Maruti Suzuki's transformation from people to premium carmaker was catapulted by the S-Cross in India. The company is currently believed to be preparing the facelifted version of the premium crossover for the market and is expected to launch it during the festive season this year.

Only the diesel version of the S-Cross is now on offer -- a 200 DDiS 1.3-litre diesel motor that can churn out 89 bhp of power and 200 Nm of torque and a 320 DDiS 1.6-litre diesel version tuned to pump out 118 bhp and 320 Nm of torque. It is available in three variants of the 1.3-litre diesel engine and the 1.6-litre engine version currently offered only in the top-end Alpha variant.

In India, luxury brands like Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) have slashed prices since June in the light of upcoming Pan India tax regime. Hyundai, Mahindra, Honda, Nissan and Ford India are also in the bandwagon with lucrative offers.