The Hindu Business Line : Well-heeled too get car discounts

IT'S not just the penny-pinching, price-conscious buyers of compact cars who get fabulous deals these days. Well-heeled businessmen and top-level executives are equally pampered with huge discounts on high-end luxury cars as sales of these status symbols fall.

Among the luxury, D-segment cars, Honda Accord offers the maximum discount, ranging from Rs 1.70 lakh to Rs 1.90 lakh, while Hyundai Sonatas are available for Rs 25,000-50,000 cheaper, dealers in the Capital said. In addition to this, if the car is financed there is another 4-5 per cent discount on the loan amount, they said.

Sources in the industry say discounts of Rs 50,000-75,000 are the order of the day in D-segment cars.

"We are giving such discounts because the customers are asking for it. Anyway, it has helped us improve our sales," says Mr G. Sanjay, Manager (Marketing) at Honda Siel Cars India Ltd.

Sales of Honda Accord went up in January this year to 156 units from 100 units in the same month a year ago, while sales of rivals Hyundai Sonata and Ford Mondeo, which offers a relatively lower discount of Rs 25,000, dipped.

Industry sources attributed the soaring sales of Honda Accord to the hefty discounts it is offering. "Volumes are important and we have to push sales," Mr Sanjay said, justifying the move by the company.

The D-segment, consisting of cars priced above Rs 10 lakh, today has seven models vying with each other to catch the fancy of the affluent class in the country.

Apart from Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Ford Mondeo, Skoda Octavia and Mercedes C Class, two new cars — Toyota Camry and Opel Vectra — recently entered the market.Skoda plans to introduce its Laurin & Klement model in this segment later this year.

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