Thursday, July 23, 2015
By Kriti Gupta
Rain of heavy discounts on luxurious cars
It's not just incessant rains that are flooding the roads this monsoon. Triggered by tumbling demand, luxury-car makers are offering freebies and steep discounts that shave off more than Rs 5 lakh from the price of popular models such as the BMW 5 Series, Audi A3 and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Customers can buy their favourite cars without making a down payment or avail of interest-free finance in a market that has stagnated for the past three years. A sluggish economy has aggravated worries for Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW, which dominate the market and are now doling out innovative schemes to arrest a steep fall in inquiries and sales. "It is perhaps the toughest time for luxury cars," said a dealer of luxury cars "Traffic of customers is down 20-25% for the past two months over the past year, creating a panic and forcing us to double our monsoon season discounts."
All brands have been hit. Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover is offering down payment of Rs 11.25 lakh, a three-year maintenance package, one-year free insurance and financing of balance amount on its Jaguar XJ sedan. Audi has come up with a bullet payment for its A3 sedan and the Q5 SUV, assuring 55% buyback value on vehicles after three years of use, besides direct cash benefits to the tune of Rs 4 lakh.
Mercedes-Benz, which posted 41% growth in the first half of the year on demand for newly launched models, is also offering discounts. It assures customers of 50% buyback value after three years and a discounted EMI of Rs 57,777 on its C-Class, while its GLA-Class comes with first-year insurance paid, a Rs 1 lakh exchange benefit and a discounted 8.99% finance option. We are focused on our strategy by giving fully featureenriched Mercedes-Benz vehicles. We offer innovative financial packages, special insurance products from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services to ensure better value for our offerings," said Eberhard Kern of the India unit.
Courtesy: Economic Times
