Auto sales set to dip this quarter
Customers to wait for Budget, GST
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■ The automobile sector, which was badly hit by demonetisation, will continue to be in a sorry situation for the next three months, as most prospective car buyers are waiting for the upcoming Union Budget and the implementation of GST.
Showrooms which offer high-end cars have seen a drastic fall in sales in the last three months. A few other manufacturers who offer small and medium cars have registered a 4 to 4.4 per cent drop in sales in the last quarter.
A dealer and retired major, former chairman of AP Motor Vehicle Dealers’ Association P.T. Chowdhary, said that there are no hopes of a drop in prices after the implementation of the GST.
“It’s the doldrums for tax in the GST for medium and super cars. A few models are facing a crunch at present. However, the shares of such companies have gone up,” he said.
“The two-wheeler sector, however, has experienced a sharp fall in sales due to various reasons,” he said.
Hyderabad joint Area HIT BY Hyderabad OUTSKIRTS Ranga Reddy Medchal Vikarabad Oct transport commissioner J. Pandurang Naik said that the sales of all categories of vehicles have fallen. “Now, a majority of customers are waiting for sops in the Budget. Many are also waiting for the GST to avoid additional taxes,” he said.
Mr Naik said that the government was collecting Central taxes like customs and excise duty, VAT, Swachh Bharat and Krishi Kalyan cess and service tax apart from the road tax imposed by the state government. “Experts are hoping the 22nd amendment of the MV Act may give some SLUMP VEHICLES REGISTERED IN CITY IN LAST QUARTER OF 2016 22,966 Nov 14,639 Dec 13,036 23,786 27,352 21,084 exemptions in state road taxes,” he said.
K. Vijay Kumar, a techie from Madhapur, said that he had been planning to purchase a small car. “The Demonetisation stopped me. In December, my friends suggested the model of the car would get one year added to its age in a month if I purchased it at the year end. As Sankranti is believed to be inauspicious, I dropped the idea till January. Now, I’m waiting for the reduction in prices after the Central Budget and the implementation of the GST,” he said.