If you were planning to buy a car, there is good news for you. India’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Udyog has slashed prices of its entry-level car Maruti 800 by Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 with effect from July 23. As per a company statement, the new ex-showroom Delhi price of the Maruti 800 Standard (Euro-I) model has been reduced by 8.7 per cent (Rs 18,000) to Rs 1,88,619 from Rs 2,06,619 previously.Price of the Maruti-800 (Standard Euro-II) has come down by Rs 15,000 (6.7 per cent) to Rs 2,06,419 from the earlier Rs 2,214,19. The Maruti 800 Deluxe (Euro-II) model would now cost Rs 2,55,534 (Rs 2,73,534), after a reduction of Rs 18,000 (6.6 per cent), the statement said.Though the company claims that the step has been taken to end the prolonged slowdown in the domestic car industry which is still untouched by the revival trend, the move is believed by the industry to be influenced by dropping sales of the company’s bread-and-butter model which has witnessed a sharp decline of 28.2 per cent during April-June, 2002-03 to 24,982 units from 34,797 units in the same period last fiscal.Said Hyundai Motor India president B.V.R. Subbu ‘it is a desperate attempt by Maruti to shore up the fortunes of its flagship brand. I don’t see this helping Maruti much because there is a fundamental customer shift away from the Maruti 800 as an entry level car.’ He further added that ‘‘customers today have become more discerning and are increasingly choosing new or used ‘B’ segment cars as their first car’.But Maruti is sure that in the short term, this reduction in price will stimulate the sluggish domestic car industry.
