Maruti Suzuki dealers offering Rs 5000 discount on diesel variants of the Swift and the Ertiga

Maruti Suzuki dealers across India are now offering a discount of Rs 5000 on the Swift diesel hatchback and the Ertiga MUV.  While there have been discounts at the dealer level for the Ertiga diesel before, this is the first time that a discount is being offered on the Swift diesel, an indication of how much the economic slowdown has affected the auto industry.   

Last week the company began a promotion where it was offering instant delivery of the Swift diesel and it seems the discount is now one more step to entice customers further. We also believe that the discounted cars might be leftover stocks of the 2012 models.  

"We are currently facing perhaps the toughest times in the past several years. The customer test-drives, rate of conversions of car bookings to retail sales all have declined in recent months. While waiting on all models has vanished, the lack lustre Budget has resulted in low sales for models like Swift that which enjoyed a huge waiting until last month," said a Maruti Suzuki dealer to the Economic Times.

However, the automaker on the other hand has refuted stories about discount news. “This is not true. There is no discount for retail customers but there may be offers for certain bulk dealers,” said a company spokesperson.

The Indian auto industry is going through bad phase due to rising fuel prices, high interest rates and unfriendly policies. Many other car manufacturers are also offering discounts to clear their inventory and achieve their sales target before the fiscal year ends.

Source: Economic Times