COVID-19 pandemic has brought public transport to a halt. While cities are slowly opening up for economic activities, people are scared to travel in public transport anymore. The government has also instructed public buses to run with only 25 percent capacity to maintain social distancing norms strictly. This has created a scarcity of public transport for several people who need to commute for essential services on a regular basis.
A recent survey done by Capgemini has also indicated that more than 50 percent of people are inclined to buy a car in 2020. That is the second-largest number of potential car buyers after China. It is because people now feel that the car is the safest option to travel from one place to another.
You can easily control the hygiene of your car and you get to decide who can sit or sit with you inside the vehicle. The only deterrent here is a sluggish economy and no job security. Pandemic followed by lockdown has forced several businesses to shut shops and others are struggling to stay afloat. The uncertain economic environment has confused car buyers whether to spend a large sum of money in a car or not.
Discounts and RBI
To cheer up car buyers, almost all car manufacturers including Maruti, Hyundai, Honda, and Volkswagen are offering huge discounts, incentives, and other benefits to car buyers. You can easily get a sizeable amount of benefits on top trims. In fact, you can get all top specs at the price of a medium variant.
Car manufacturers are also offering cash benefits and flexible EMI schemes. In some offers, you can buy the car now and defer the EMIs for as long as next year; i.e. 2021. Some manufacturers are also offering on-road finance at 0 percent rates.
To improve the consumer sentiment, RBI has also pitched in with a six months moratorium till August 31. It also slashed the benchmark rates to bring enthusiasm back to the auto sector.
SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) president welcomed the 40 basis point reduction in the repo rate. It would reduce the key policy rate to 4 percent. He said the reduction will help in reducing the cost of loans for customers and traders leading to an increase in the overall demand.
We hope these discounts and the additional boost by RBI help the reeling car market to make a faster recovery.
