India's leading auto manufacturer Maruti Suzuki's best-selling model Swift is offered on discount price for the first time ever since its launch in the country.
According to a new report, the diesel variant of Maruti Swift is being offered with a discount price of Rs. 5,000. Ever since its launch in India, Swift has recorded amazing sales figures and the latest news that this car is on discount shows how the auto sector of India is hit by a sluggish demand. An Economic Times report said that the company is not only offering cars on discount, but also offers a 'no waiting period' on its hatchback.
Maruti Suzuki has reported a plunge of 7.9 percent to 1,09,567 units in its total sales for February 2013, compared to 1,18,949 units for the same month last year. Maruti DZire also gets a discount of Rs. 10,000, the report said.
"We are currently facing perhaps the toughest times in the past several years. The customer test-drives, rate of conversations of car bookings to retail sales all have declined in recent months," ET quoted a Maruti dealer as saying. "While waiting on all models has vanished, the lacklustre Budget has changed the swing even for models like Swift that have enjoyed huge waiting until last month."
However, the company has declined any such movement. "This is not true. There is no discount for retail customers. There may be offers for certain bulk dealers," said a company spokesperson to CarWale.
The slowdown in the car market has forced the auto majors to throw in discounts and freebies. Auto major Volkswagen also introduced a new scheme in which customers can exchange an old model for a new Vento sedan by making a payment of just ₹1 and without having to pay anything else for the next one year. Skoda has introduced a one-year no-EMI offer for the purchase of Rapid. Interestingly, Skoda is also offering a free Fabia hatchback with the purchase of Rapid Sedan.
