Demonetisation: Car makers dangle discount offers to woo customers

Moneycontrol BureauTo cope with the currency ban, carmakers are offering freebies to boost retail sales this month. What makes these deals sweeter is the chance to make purchases before a price increase that manufacturers are planning to take starting January due to rising raw material cost. Car companies have announced discounts in the range of 10-20 percent in December to stabalise the weak demand caused mainly due to the government’s demonetisation move. Maruti is offering discounts between Rs 50,000-60,000 on small cars like Alto and WagonR. Hyundai is also offering discounts on i10 and Eon while M&M is luring customers with cash benefits between Rs 30,000 and Rs 1 lakh.Meanwhile, some companies have already said they will raise prices come January. Toyota is planning an increase of 3 percent while for Honda India it could be by 1.5-2.0 percent. The companies have also introduced 100 percent financing for buyers in order to help them wade through the currency crunch. Usually, 70-80 percent financing is done by banks while the balance has to be financed by the buyer as margin money.