[autorahul]

Ciaz and Ertiga SHVS variant prices have been cut by upto 68000, bring the price of petrol and diesel models astonishingly close and adding further value to these decently priced cars.

The price cut have been to pass the benefits of SHVS technology, which makes the cars eligible for a 12.5 percent excise duty, instead of the 24 percent excise duty levied on conventional petrol and diesel cars, as specified under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP). Prices for the petrol variants remain unchanged.

This just makes me wish S-Cross started coming with SHVS. It also does raise questions about the government rulings of passing such big benefits for a mild hybrid system.

Source

New prices of Ciaz Diesel along with comparison against City


New prices of Ertiga


Mods: Please merge with any existing thread, as deemed necessary

[SchumiFan]

Seems like Toyota has reduced the price of the Camry Hybrid as well. But this will affect the market more due to the price range at which it is positioned.

Can't see a reason to go for a petrol Ciaz barring maybe the more silent nature of the petrol engine and the AT availability.

More importantly, the top variant falls under 10L bracket which will bring more savings from taxes as well.

Can see them increasing their sales significantly.

[Sherlocked]

After reading this, I'm like .
This price reduction makes Ciaz and Ertiga diesel a terrific value for money and make the Honda City look grossly overpriced.

If this excise duty exemption continues for mild hybrid system, I can foresee every manufacturer in near future offering this technology in their cars and why shouldn't they!
If this loophole, if I may call it so, gives them an opportunity to escape a little from the already over taxed Indian car industry and help price the products competitively I see no reason why to not offer Mild Hybrid in their cars.
And most importantly, the Giant (Maruti Suzuki) has embarked a new territory so others will have to follow suit, just like sub 4 meter compact sedans and AMT offerings to name a few.

[IPathan]

This only valid for the Delhi-NCR region.

Posting link from NDTV and TOI

http://auto.ndtv.com/news/maruti-suz...-delhi-1409069

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...w/52412517.cms

Also SHVS-equipped cars exempt from Delhi Odd-Even scheme (discussion ongoing on Team BHP)

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...even-rule.html

[thoma]

Is this a first in the country? A diesel car costs less than a petrol and that too close to a lakh (90k to be precise; for the Ertiga base, from the opening post )!

Why is Maruti not passing the benefit to other parts of the country when it is the Central government that benefits from the excise duty?

Why is all things going right with Maruti and others are left behind? Or does it seem that the government is amending laws and taxes based on Maruti's models!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by thoma

Is this a first in the country? A diesel car costs less than a petrol and that too close to a lakh (90k to be precise; for the Ertiga base, from the opening post )!

Why is Maruti not passing the benefit to other parts of the country when it is the Central government that benefits from the excise duty?

Why is all things going right with Maruti and others are left behind? Or does it seem that the government is amending laws and taxes based on Maruti's models!

India is such an important market for Suzuki that they adapt as fast as possible to the required rules and regulations.

Can be pretty sure that TATA and Mahindra won't be left far behind either. The way Mahindra responded to the 2000cc ban is proof enough!

[Rajeevraj]

This is only in Delhi and as far as I have read, this is due to the Delhi Government cutting VAT from 12.5% to 5% for Hybrids and not due to the excise duty related benefits. So it is not applicable currently to the rest of the country. As per discussions in the Ciaz thread, you need to produce a Delhi Address Proof to avail this benefit.

Edit: Interestingly most online reports attribute this to the excise duty cut to 12.5% from 24 as part of National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP). Not sure if this is true.

[aaggoswami]

This is a nice move and with the recent ban on sale of cars with larger hearts, Ertiga might get some boost in sales. And with this price cut, Ciaz diesel is more VFM as compared to Honda City. Smart move to pass on the benefits. Wonder if competitors are working on a similar concept or not.

As far my understanding goes, it has to be reduction in VAT. Excise duty reduction must result in price reduction all over the country, not just for specified location. VAT is under local government, whereas Excise Duty is under central government.

[null]

Wow. The ex-showroom price difference is almost 1 lakh now between Delhi & Bangalore.

Model DEL BLR DELTA
CIAZ SHVS VDI 768138 863382 95244
CIAZ SHVS VDI (O) 781672 878140 96428
CIAZ SHVS VDI+ 822738 922922 100184
CIAZ SHVS ZDI 889005 995188 106183
CIAZ SHVS ZDI+ 949672 1061343 111671

Isn't it a wise idea to buy a car in Delhi, take temp registration & drive down to Bangalore and get it registered here? Roughly around 6K worth fuel & another 6K of other expenses for a 3-4 day journey I presume. No? Any pitfalls?

[thoma]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Seriously!! Diesel models now cheaper than petrol?

Originally Posted by thoma

diesel car costs less than a petrol and that too close to a lakh (90k to be precise; for the Ertiga base, from the opening post )

Originally Posted by autorahul

New prices of Ertiga

It's a typo. The price of Ertiga mentioned in the opening post is reverse for petrol and diesel. Mods, please correct it.

Still, the ZDi+ costs less than the ZXi+ by 5 grands.

[GTO]

Yet another reason to buy the 1.3L diesel over the 1.4L petrol. I've never been a fan of the 1.4L Petrol in the Ertiga / Ciaz. It's an unimpressive motor on the open road. My review of it here.

The government sure makes some weird decisions; whether it's by design or due to their lack of automotive knowledge is anyone's guess (although I'm 100% sure it's Maruti lobbying at work). On the one hand, they offer serious discounts on mild-hybrids that are hardly less polluting in the real world. On the other hand, they ban cars that meet the most stringent emission norms (e.g. Mercedes E250) just because the engine size is over 2 liters. In the same breath, I might add, the VW 2.0L (known for cheating emission norms) is available on sale everywhere! And don't even get me started on the arbitrary sunfilm ban. Just w-e-i-r-d.

In summary, do I think that the Camry Hybrid deserves these tax benefits? Yes. Maruti's SHVS? No ways.

[blackwasp]

Now, how will govt. stop people from buying these cars in Delhi and registering it elsewhere? Savings apart, an enthusiast would love driving the car to his home from Delhi. If I were in the market for the Ciaz, I would definitely try to get it in Delhi and drive it all the way to Mumbai.

[pravint]

Honda can take same benefits by introducing Honda City Grace(Hybrid), IMO Honda India will not do this unless their sales are terribly affected.

[ashpalio]

Mild or not, are these really Hybrid cars? I do not see anything hybrid about them at all. Would someone enlighten me about the so called "hybrid" system and how it helps in propulsion of the vehicle?

The mild hybrid tag is being used by - Scorpio, besides the Maruti models.

Merc C200 Avantagarde has an "Eco mode" which switches the engine off and later turns it on, so why is Merc not getting the "Hybrid" tag and availing tax discounts? Is there any gap in functioning between Merc Eco mode and the Indian Hybrid cars?

[MaheshY1]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'm 100% sure it's Maruti lobbying at work.

In summary, do I think that the Camry Hybrid deserves these tax benefits? Yes. Maruti's SHVS? No ways.

You just spoke my heart.

Right from the start, I could smell fishy.

Step 1: Large diesel engines are banned in NCR (Maruti doesn't make them anyway)

Step 2: SHVS with 3BHP motor is launched (With Diesel BTW, because India loves diesel.)

Step 3: Delhi comes up with Odd-Even
---Step 3a: Hybrids exempted even if they barely meet the requirements to be called Hybrids. Helps Maruti maintain diesel sales.
---Step 3b: CNGs exempted. Helps Maruti maintain petrol sales.

Step 4: Hybrids get VAT dropped by 7.5%.

Step 5: Large diesels banned in Kerala.

Step 6: ???

Looking at the timeline and using some common sense, it becomes obvious that Maruti not only knows what's going to happen but decides what's going to happen and executes those decisions at the right time to deliver a strong punch to the competition. Huh! Walking into the ring with weighted gloves.

My guess is lobbying will become apparent again when crash tests become part of homologation. Altos and Swifts will get four stars and Ciaz, S-Cross, Brezza will get five stars. Cars with international safety standards will have to remain content with cheapo Indian five-star safety ratings.