Friday, January 25, 2013
By Shilpa Chopra
Diesel SUVs might cost more after budget declaration
The announcement of 2013 Union Budget is round the corner, or to be precise just a month away (28th Feb 2013), the rumors and allocations are already filling the Indian car bazaar. According to the news reports, the diesel SUVs might get burdened with high excise duty, which could make their price tag higher than present. If this happens, then it will surely generate some extra revenue for the Indian government. This revenue is likely to be utilized to chop down the subsidy saddle that is because of a lot of financial assistance that the government has on every litre of diesel in India.
It is a well known fact that the Indian SUV market is largely subjugated by car brands like Mahindra and Mahindra, followed by Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Tata Motors, General Motors and more. And the demand for diesel SUVs has raised big time in last couple of years. Therefore, increasing the excise duty on these is not logical at all. If we check the fuel economy and performance, the diesel SUVs are quite more fuel efficient and great performers as compared to the diesel sedans or hatchbacks.
Consequently, it would be tough for the above mentioned car makers if the excise duty on the diesel SUVs is increased as they seem to be the bread and butter for them. Mahindra and Mahindra has diesel SUVs including Mahindra Bolero, Mahindra Scorpio and Mahindra XUV 500; Tata Motors has Tata Safari Storme & Tata Sumo and Toyota has Toyota Fortuner.If the excise duty is enhanced, it would certainly create a bit of problem for Ford EcoSport as well. Ford EcoSport is rumored to be launched in next couple of weeks. Let’s see now what the 2013 Union Budget has in store for us!
