Deep discounts to woo car buyers

Hyderabad: Demonetisation has negatively impacted not just daily wage earners and small businessmen, but also high-profile automobile and cement dealers. Reeling under the impact of demonetization, nearly a month after it was announced, car and cement dealers have begun offering huge discounts to salvage their plummeting sales.

Car showrooms are wearing a deserted look for want of customers in the wake of demonetisation of high value currency notes. Left with little or no scope for jacking up sales, the showrooms have been offering ‘general discount’, ‘corporate discount’, ‘vehicle exchange discount’ and so on to woo customers. Talking to The Hans India, Maruti Suzuki showroom manager Arun pointed out that the company had announced discounts ranging between Rs 20,000 and Rs 60,000 on various models to capture business.

The real estate sector too has come to a standstill following the decision. With sales of cement nose-diving, several lorry loads remain unsold with cement companies. A top cement brand in the marked slashed its price by Rs 40 per bag to sell it at Rs 310, whereas unbranded cement companies have imposed a cut of Rs 70 per bag.

By Satheesh Kumar Vempati