Europe V/s India

[amit]

hi friends...was surfing around looking for auto websites as usual and found a site that had a article comparing indian cars with their Europeon/western counterparts, price and feature wise. Surprising results, i must say. So here are the results , all quoted from the site:

Honda City 1.5 vs Honda Civic 1.5i S VTEC (Old models)

Honda City 1.5 Rs.8,30,401
Honda Civic 1.5i S VTEC Rs. 6,26,318

MORE EXPENSIVE THAN CIVIC!

The bigger engined City was earlier a heftry 35 percent more expensive than the Civic but thanks to the excise cuts and a favourable exchange rate it has moved up the value for money rankings. Even so, it is still more expensive than the Civic. Consider that the Civic 1.5i S VTEC is perceived as a slightly better and an upper level product while the City is actually Honda's cheap Asia car - it caters to the emerging markets in Asia. Granted that Honda has an excellent brand equity in India, Indians still seem to be paying a little too much for what is actually a rather ordinary car in relative terms.

Maruti Zen vs Suzuki Alto
Maruti Zen 3,44,985
Suzuki Alto 2,52,168
The Suzuki Alto in Europe, which is the same as the Maruti Zen in India, comes with an engine immobiliser, and a leather-wrapped two spoke steering wheel. As in India, the European Alto also comes with side impact protection beams and tinted glass. Europeans however also get a three year warranty, along with three years of free roadside assistance and six years anti-perforation (anti-rust) warranty. The Zen was developed for export markets and is exported to Europe as the Alto. According to industry sources the exports are at a loss to the Indian company. Could this be the reason for the higher price in India - to subsidise the loss?.


Maruti 800 vs FIAT Panda
maruti 800 2,20,901
FIAT Panda 2,49,640 ( old panda, not the current model)


The Maruti 800 in India and the Fiat Panda in France are the cheapest cars available in their respective markets. Both have been around for a very long time and thanks to the economies of scale attained, the 800 is probably one of the cheapest cars in the world - never mind that when compared to the Panda which has two doors less, the base 800 lacks central locking, rear window washer/wiper, cigarette lighter, auto-reverse radio cassette player, and electric windows. the Panda needs there to attract buyers in a very competitive market - but these are standard features.

Maruti Wagon R vs Suzuki Wagon R+
Maruti Wagon R 3,42,128
Suzuki Wagon R+ 3,78,568
Looking at the prices, the basic Wagon R is just a little cheaper than the European Wagon R+. However, the Indian version has a 1.1 litre engine derived from the Maruti 800 and not the 1.3 litre 16-valve fuel injected engine, nor the dual airbags or the three year warranty, three years free roadside assistance, and 12 year anti perforation warranty of the wagon R+. When Maruti Udyog launched the Wagon R, it appeared that Maruti was unsure of its target segment - was it a car or a van? Maruti finally decided to call it a multi-activity vehicle. Yet by virtue of being cheaper, the Wagon R gets a good value for money rank.

[GTO]

You are dead right, Indians (especially bombayites) pay among the highest price tags on any car we buy - Indian/Imported , New/old. There is only one reason for this - TAXES

Taxes (central, excise, sales, octroi, entry etc.) make up for a little more than 40% of the price a new car buyer pays at the showroom.

Its a pity, but its also reality.

GTO