114483
Posted on 
Diesel price hike, new launches help petrol cars regain lost ground
Just when it looked like diesel had won the 'king of fuel' crown, its more expensive counterpart is beginning to claw back some lost ground.
Although demand for diesel is still strong and accounted for 57 per cent of total car sales till September end, there has been a 3 per cent to 5 per cent jump in sales of petrol cars in October, taking its overall tally to 46 per cent - 48 per cent.
According to different car manufacturers, after almost two years, the festive season has provided just the shot in the arm that petrol cars needed. Customers are vying for popular entry-level petrol cars like Hyundai's EON and Maruti's Alto 800 as well as hatchbacks like Maruti's Swift, Nissan's Micra, Skoda's Fabia and the Toyota Etios Liva. A hike in the price of diesel by Rs 5 in mid-September has also played its part in driving buyers towards petrol models.
"Petrol cars have made a strong comeback after the government hiked diesel prices. For several models, we have seen higher demand for petrol versions in October. For instance, sales of our petrol version of the Beat hatchback increased 5 per cent to take its proportion to 20 per cent of overall Beat sales," said P Balendran, vice president (corporate affairs), General Motors India
Image courtesy: Economic Times
Carmakers have tried to cash in on the increasing interest in diesel cars by resorting to periodic price hikes. This has resulted in the gap between diesel and petrol versions widening from Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000 a year ago to Rs 90,000 to Rs 130,000.
"Petrol cars are coming back with customers opting for the more favourable economics of running these cars. The attractive price tags on these models have resulted in an upswing in demand for petrol models in the past few weeks," added Sandeep Singh, deputy MD (marketing) at Toyota Kirloskar Motors.
Both the EON and the Alto 800, for instance, have a sub-Rs 3 lakh ex-factory price. The pick-up in EON sales has helped Hyundai post an 18 per cent growth in petrol models in October as against 10 per cent for its diesel variants (which include the i20 and the Verna sedan).
Do you like this story?
- Previous Story
- Next Story
Readers' opinions ( 0 )
Post a Comment
Post a CommentFord 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine : How it stacks up
by Team ZigWheels
Producing 125 PS of power and peak torque of 170...
Mercedes-Benz A-Class : Special Coverage
by Team ZigWheels
The A-Class represents an important milestone for...
2013 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Coupe : First Drive Pics!
Team ZigWheels Photography by Kunal Khadse
Team ZigWheels gets up-close and personal to the...
24 Hours of Le Mans 2013 : Special Coverage
To be held from the 22nd to the 23rd of June, Le Mans 24 Hours will be celebrating its 90th...
Ford EcoSport : Special Coverage
The Ford EcoSport SUV for the Indian market has been officially unveiled and is slated for launch...
