Its Raining New Cars This Month to Cash in on Festive Demand

Pune: It is raining new cars this month as automakers have lined up a slew of flush sedans and SUVs to entice buyers during this mega festival season.

As many as six new passenger vehicles will hit the market this month as prospective customers purchase their big-ticket vehicles during this auspicious occasion.

Company honchos and auto analysts said after big ticket buying of a home/real estate, the next big thing people purchase is a new car for the family.

“Auto makers know this hot seasonal trend in India and none wants to miss out this golden opportunity to sell their cars,” they told Financial Chronicle.

Kia, the Korean automaker, is introducing a new generation Carnival after the previous model was discontinued last June and the EV9 electric SUV as its new flagship vehicle.

Japanese giant Nissan has also geared to launch its Magnite facelift. Four years after its launch, the Nissan Magnite is coming into the market after its first mid-lifecycle refresh this month.

BYD, the Chinese car maker, will bring its new BYD eMax 7 on October 8. Ahead of its price announcement, BYD has already started bookings for the updated all-electric MPV. If you are planning to get one, you can reserve yours for a token amount of Rs 51,000 at authorized dealerships and on BYD’s website. The first 1,000 customers for the new eMAX 7 will also get benefits worth Rs 51,000. It is likely to be priced around Rs 30-33 lakh.

German luxury car makers such as Mercedes Benz and its compatriot archrival BMW have also lined up their new car launches to attract prospective buyers this season.

Mercedes Benz, India’s biggest luxury car maker will launch the sixth-generation long-wheelbase E-Class with an estimated price tag upward of Rs 80 lakh to take on archrival BMW’s recently launched BMW 5 Series LWB. Deliveries for the new E-Class will start by the end of October.

BMW, India’s second biggest luxury car maker, will launch a better version of its performance-oriented sedan, M4 CS (Competition Sport) on October 4. The car with upgrades in terms of performance will be positioned between the standard M4 and the M4 GTS. These changes in the car are aimed at improving the track-focused abilities of the vehicle while also improving the driving experience in daily use.

“After buying a home/real estate, the next big ticket purchase for consumers in India is a vehicle, which generally happens in this mega festival season,” Gaurav Vangaal, associate director at S&P Global Mobility told FC.

Navratri, Diwali and Dussehra are big festivals and auspicious for buying cars, he pointed out.

“The auto market is flush with new product launches and the customer is spoilt for choice,” FADA president CS Vigneshwar told FC.

On festive sales demand, he said it is a great time for customers. “Supply is better than the demand, and the OEMS have assured us enough stock for festival offtake,” Vigneshwar said, pointing out that 25-30 per cent sales come from festive season out of the total annual sales.