[pv5]

I am going to give a contrary opinion on the car using EMI purchase, especially if it is the first car in family. YOLO aspect aside, you buy when you can enjoy with family and when everyone's health is in good shape and you can take longer road trips etc. There is a premium you pay to get the experience & it is worth every penny. The loans are a feature and not bug. The EMI's will be a stretch, but we are optimistic people & when we can bet 30-40X on future earnings of a company, can surely bet on personal capability and earning potential.

[ZenMaster]

We pay all the taxes on our cars and fuel through our nose and get almost nothing in return. Only empty promises from netas.

Off-topic:

When you think about it, the Govt. Can be considered as a mafia. You pay them in return for the "protection".

Its just the biggest mafia in town that crushes all the other mafias or people who can't pay the "protection money" as well as props up those who are their cronies.

They crush you if you don't follow the rules. But you can break the rules as long as you are rich enough to pay them off or you are one of their gang member(read party worker/politicians child/rich dudes who can donate to parties or pay off the police etc.)

Its always the common man who suffers.

The election is just an excercise to decide who will be the next Mafia boss .

Well all we can can do is pay our "taxes" and scream at other road users within the confines of our raised sub 4 metre hatchbacks while stuck in traffic

[dsuman]

Well all this can be blamed on taxes. High taxes on Automobiles resulting is astronomical prices. High (Direct & Indirect) taxes on people's income resulting in less Cash in hand.

Less Cash in Hand means no thoughts of new vehicle Purchase. I am need of a new Scooter and preferably an Electric scooter but even a Chinese Kit Assembled EV costs upwards of Rs 1 lakh. Branded (and good range) EVs are retailing at more than 1,30,000/-.

Unless our Hon'ble Finance Minister reduces taxes (in the upcoming budget) the market downslide will continue. If you Put more money in my hand. I will spend more.

[Siavi]

Originally Posted by Siavi

I just hope that this doesn't lead to the auto lobby colluding with the government and the subsequent implementation of the 15/10 year car ban throughout the country. This would force people to buy new cars, just like the residents of NCR are forced to, even if they don't want to.

https://thenewshimachal.com/2024/07/...oss-districts/

This is just what I was hoping wouldn't happen and here we are

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by Siavi

This is just what I was hoping wouldn't happen and here we are

This is eventually going to happen across the country. Sad, but true.

[kushagra452]

Hope some sanity returns to the used car market as well. Online used car aggregators, like Spinny, Cars24 were selling 5-6 yr old used cars at exorbitant rates. The last I checked with them was in 2022. Hardly 10%-12% depreciation on a used 5 year old Maruti. I had no choice but to drop my plans of purchasing a used car. Hope this slowdown in sales also has an impact on the used car market as well.

[Meph1st0]

Who is negatively affected by the slow down? Government and car manufacturers.
Who is benefited by the mandatory scrapping policy? Government and car manufacturers.
If the slow down does not improve in a few months, more states will adopt the mandatory scrapping policy in the name of pollution. Government (both state and center) is by far the biggest beneficiary from car sales.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

Hope some sanity returns to the used car market as well. Online used car aggregators, like Spinny, Cars24 were selling 5-6 yr old used cars at exorbitant rates. The last I checked with them was in 2022. Hardly 10%-12% depreciation on a used 5 year old Maruti. I had no choice but to drop my plans of purchasing a used car. Hope this slowdown in sales also has an impact on the used car market as well.

They are selling at exorbitant rates, but quote pennies when it comes to buying. Totally milking the market in the name of convenience. I’d rather sell my car to the local used car dealer than these chumps.

[ZenMaster]

If someone wants to maintain a classic car in states with 15 year scrappage policy, what are their options?

[Briarean]

I believe this is the correction happening after the massive bull run of manufacturers during and after COVID-19. They milked the misery of the common man’s need to own a car (a confined safe personal space) during the pandemic. The supply-chain disruptions and chip shortages were blamed, and prices were increased exponentially.

Adding to it, was the perception of India as a growing major economy that pushed the dream run a little more. The massive delays and disruptions created wait lists spanning years. And once everything is stabilized the car manufacturers are just waking up from the trance. By the time they came back to their senses, whoever wanted to buy a car as a necessity had purchased it during this period.

This issue of “Unsold inventory for carmakers” is a global phenomenon and India is a little late to join the party. As a connected global economy, every nation will be impacted by the slump or decline of major markets, like the USA, EU, or China. Inflation, job issues, and recession are almost everywhere now.

This is the reason I am reluctant to blame this entire fiasco on government taxes and policies alone (Central as well as State). However, they must devise some method to revive this situation to the benefit of taxpayers. Below are my wish-list:

• Scrapping 15-year-old cars and other vehicles will be a nightmare. However, the Government can introduce an extension of up to 10 years for these vehicles (with some strict regulations) and then proceed with scrapping.
• Encourage taxpayers to own cars by giving tax benefits on car loans.
• Re-examine and digitize the vehicle taxation and number plate system so that a car purchased from any state can be used and its taxes can be paid anywhere in India.
• Bring petrol, diesel, and other fuels under GST.
• Subsidies on strong hybrids and EVs.
• Some kind of price protection on high-value purchases like cars and houses should be a good prospect to implement. Where the manufacturers and builders should not act as a mafia organization and increase prices as and when they can. Something under the purview of the “Competition Commission of India”. Example: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-...050522825.html and https://www.cci.gov.in/images/antitr...1652430028.pdf

We Team-bhp members are a very minuscule group of enthusiasts, mostly tax-paying middle-class citizens who can afford a vehicle. It’s a fact that we are getting nothing in return for the taxes we pay and it seems like an extortion. However, a vast majority of Indians still need government support for their betterment. This time I wish to give the “benefit of doubt” to the government (both center & state). Please wake me up if you suspect I am daydreaming.

[Karan_n8]

I hope this trickles down to the second hand vehicle market as well. The way they have minted money in the last 4 years selling outstation pre used luxury cars at 30-35% mark ups is insane. When you goto sell your car to an NCR dealer you get offered peanuts and then the same car , same condition is at a 35% mark up on OLX.

[Abudhabicars]

Thinking that the tangible effects of unsold inventory seem to be now out in the open - seeing a multibrand display in a mall backed by a PSU bank’s auto loan push.

[Rennjit]

Well all this can be blamed on taxes. High taxes on Automobiles resulting is astronomical prices. High (Direct & Indirect) taxes on people's income resulting in less Cash in hand.

.....

Yes, the taxes itself is major deterrent for the middle class who pays direct taxes as well. I for one see no value in buying one new - getting 50% of what one pays for. I hate to give into the greed of the government charging almost 50% on various taxes on a new car after paying higher slab direct taxes, along with all indirect taxes and levies of regular life.

Who can afford new car = middle class.
Who is taxed more = middle class.
Who stays away from new cars = middle class.
Whose older cars are snatched away = middle class.
Who goes car less = middle class.

For middle class, This is the only item where in we can hit the government's greediness by not having to consume as necessity. Let us do that for couple years & see. Government itself is making the industry crash.

[fordday]

Saw an ad for stock clearance flash sale of Nissan. Never seen such an ad for cars. Seems the situation is unfolding bad.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Rennjit

For middle class, This is the only item where in we can hit the government's greediness by not having to consume as necessity. Let us do that for couple years & see. Government itself is making the industry crash.

Its not so simple anymore. Strongly encouraging private industry creates a scenario where one can only invest and grow their corpus in the equity market. The moment domestic consumption goes down in key sectors, the stock market will get bearish and people will see their net worth erode.
What should have happened was urban planning -not necessarily expressways, bridges , Vande Bharat and what-have-you. Cities should be replanned and repurposed. In fact all of the industrial policy should revolve only around one thing- urban planning and redevelopment.