Luxury carmakers unleash festive season offers to beat Covid impact on sales
The Indian automotive industry is battling tough times due to a general economic slowdown coupled with the coronavirus-induced lockdowns. The worst hit is the luxury vehicle segment which is looking at almost 40 per cent contraction in terms of sales this calendar year.
To beat the blues, luxury carmakers are trying to encash the most during the festive season with offers galore to lure more customers. From heavy discounts to free insurance or attractive service packages, luxury carmakers have left no stone unturned in their efforts for a turnaround.
Audi has introduced its Festive Celebration Programmes on certain products. The scheme may include a lower rate of interest upto five years. In addition, for existing customers, Audi is making re-purchase and upgrades easier through special Loyalty and Exchange Programmes. Audi has also tied up with banks to offer low EMIs for customers who wish to buy a pre-owned car.
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Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head ofAudi India, was quoted by news agency IANS saying, “We are seeing positive customer sentiment in theluxury car marketand anticipate it to become even stronger with the upcoming festive season. We also anticipate the pre-owned car business to further pick up steam during the festive period."
Mercedes-Benz is offering benefits to customers which include low EMI starting from ₹39,999 for the C-Class at an interest rate of 7.99 per cent and complimentary first year insurance amongst others.
With the coronavirus pandemic curbing international holidays to exotic locations, German auto major BMW is looking to cash in on people spending on luxury cars in India even as it expects sales this year to be lower than 2019, according to a top company official.
BMW India is offering Easy Start and BMW 360 schemes which offers low monthly payments, assured buy-back value and flexible end of term options. BMW India Financial Services is offering an effective rate of interest as low as 5.55 per cent on select models. It is also offering Service Inclusive and Service Inclusive Plus to reduce cost of ownership. The MINI Countryman Cooper S is also offered at an interest rate of 6.99 per cent with complimentary service package of 5 years or 100,000 km.
But these prices might not remain low for long, as BMW Group India has announced that it will increase prices across the BMW and MINI product portfolio with effect from November 1, due to rising costs and depreciating currency.
"All major luxury car OEMs are offering discounts either directly (cash discount, exchange bonus, loyalty bonuses) or indirectly by attractive financing solutions," said Ashish Modani, Vice President, ICRA.
Other players such as Jaguar Land Rover are providing Land Rover Discovery Sport with attractive Finance Offers EMI from ₹57,900 in addition to an annual bullet of ₹4.07 lakh.
(With inputs from agencies)
