[lemedico]

I was under the impression that with more easily accessible loans being shoved down the throats and the addiction to show off in real life, in addition to Instagram of course, the middle class would be purchasing good like cars and gadgets like never before!

[RootedCosmo]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

Have read about AI/ML techies with 5-10 yrs work ex getting Rs.1 Crs+ packages in Bengaluru? I was under the impression that FAANG employees earn north of Rs.1 Crs in India.

The fat paycheques are there for the deserving lot, there is a problem of surplus IT engineers in the market now. for every job opening irrespective of level recruiters are getting 1000s of applications. The layoff trend started in mid 2022 and its not slowing down. You can search for news of TCS hiring drive where there was a queue of 2-3 KM long of fresh grads.

[gopalnt]

I used to travel from Chennai to down south (approx 800-1000 kms for 1 round trip) and bought Kia Carnival early 2023. But while doing those trips I realised that it is only about 20% of time in each trip, I was able to drive at a speed and enjoy the drive. I'm talking about GST Road. Rest, I had to deal with speeds less than 80 kmph, in most cases <60 kmph. The toll charges keeps increasing, hotels raise prices multiple times in a year. The traffic was tiring all through the route. Many places looked like typical city traffic.

And after 1 year, I stopped cheating myself that I like these long drives. I'm not inclined to do those drives for the past few months. Now I am thinking of selling Carnival and monetize it as I'm not using it anymore. I bought Seltos to use it as one car for both city and long drives.

High taxes on cars, ever increasing toll charges, huge traffic - all these are making sure that there is no incentive to drive. The experience is not there anymore.

And regards to GenZ, it's not that they are not spending. They are not spending on big ticket items. See how malls are packed with crowds, people are spending in places like there because it provides an experience. Many Campus Grads that I spoke to are saying that they will consider buying a car only when they are getting married. Getting a car after getting a job is not an idea to them at all.

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by gopalnt

The toll charges keeps increasing...

Not to forget the lines at these tolls - I've seen 1km+ long queue at Krishnagiri till plaza. If this is the case in spite of FasTag, then tolls should be done away with.

Driving has gone from a fun weekend activity to a chore.

[SR-71]

I wonder if the constant flip flops in the policy combined with very high taxes is making one think more than what he/she would have done in the past? On an average the GST + Road Tax in KA constitutes 48% of the car price. Add to it the constant flip flop in policies with lack of proper research or groundwork backing it. A few examples that come to the top of my mind are claims that Diesels will be banned in 2027 while we are still selling it in Q3 2024, moving from E10 to E20 and claiming we will move to 100% ethanol while there is no clarity on how existing owners will be able to handle this transition, states (KA for example) reducing the incentives to buy EVS. Such moves will put any middle-class buyer in a quandary as cars are quite expensive and this pushes people into thinking long term which none of the current policies support clearly.

[sgm]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

Apologies for the off topic reply. However, I was under the impression that salaries in IT/Tech are booming. As per the posts on Grapevine and X (Twitter) almost every other person working in tech seems to getting a fat pay package these days.

Have read about AI/ML techies with 5-10 yrs work ex getting Rs.1 Crs+ packages in Bengaluru? I was under the impression that FAANG employees earn north of Rs.1 Crs in India.

Yes, this is true when you consider your total package which includes stock options.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by Renaissance Man

Prices in BLR and Mumbai are quite high due to road tax. So if you take extended warranty and AMC package the price will surely cross 34L in these cities.

See the screenshot from Carwale.

I just checked the same car OTR price in Goa from CarWale website.
Ex-Showroom: INR 26,04,000
Individual registration: INR 3,50,520
Insurance: INR 1,29,038 (This could be reduced)
Other Charges: INR 28,040
Total OTR price at Goa INR 31,11,598

That's a 3 Lakh price difference between Bangalore and Goa
Ofcourse Extended warranty and AMC will cost too. Even then, it's quite a difference

[RootedCosmo]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

That's a 3 Lakh price difference between Bangalore and Goa
Ofcourse Extended warranty and AMC will cost too. Even then, it's quite a difference

Bangalore has 19.8% road tax for cars costing above 20L ex showroom. If you check the price of the same vehicle in Gujarat ( Ahmedabad ) you will be shocked to see 6% road tax which takes the onroad price below Goa price

[kgt.v8]

Originally Posted by Renaissance Man

Prices in BLR and Mumbai are quite high due to road tax. So if you take extended warranty and AMC package the price will surely cross 34L in these cities.

See the screenshot from Carwale.

Originally Posted by RootedCosmo

Bangalore has 19.8% road tax for cars costing above 20L ex showroom. If you check the price of the same vehicle in Gujarat ( Ahmedabad ) you will be shocked to see 6% road tax which takes the onroad price below Goa price

Hyderabad is also in the same boat as Bengaluru now with respect to high road taxes.

Road tax brackets are

1. <₹10 lakh - 14% Road tax
2. ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh - 17% Road tax
3. > ₹20 lakh - 20% Road tax

On top of all this, we can’t get BH registration. EV road tax benefits were ended last year, so EV on-road prices are more than ICE cars. if you don’t have lot of running then it will takes too long to recover extra amounts paid for EV purchase.

Road infrastructure is not improving a lot and traffic conditions have worsened post COVID. Hyderabad has lot of roads that have started to feel like off-road track. There is not enough to lure people to buy new car or exchange their 5 year old car with a smaller car which has less features than their existing one. This is based on my perspective.

[Chisels121]

Originally Posted by Renaissance Man

Prices in BLR and Mumbai are quite high due to road tax. So if you take extended warranty and AMC package the price will surely cross 34L in these cities.

See the screenshot from Carwale.

Thanks but the point is different, our fellow member mentioned the 2018 XUV500 costed 17 lakhs and that must have been the W5 or W7 manual variants and the equivalent variants of those today cost between 23 and 25 lakhs on road Bangalore according to Carwale so add the AMC and other stuff and the final price comes to 24 and 26 lakhs [AX5 and AX7] and you must be already aware of the stark differences between a XUV700 and 500 that includes panoramic sunroof, ADAS on the AX7 ,power driver and passenger seats , a WAY more powerful engine with an equally briliant infotainment system and etc. So if you ask me we should not cry about the XUV atleast as it's pricing premium is justified over the now slightly obsolete XUV500.THE variant you posted has AWD, automatic transmission and even more features. The equivalent Xuv500 variant of that costed 25lakhs in 2019.

Please understand that we always paint every car company with the same brush and we should atleast respect the ones that decent value to the table for us customers. If you don't believe me compare Scorpio N Automatic and Creta Automatic prices and you will understand what I am trying to convey.

[am1m]

I'm not sure most of us on the forum fall in the actual definition of middle-class. But even assuming that, it is definitely becoming more of a hassle than a convenience to use a car in cities like Bangalore. For most who can afford a car, it's probably the lack of alternatives (no reliable public transport) that 'drives' them.

Personally, I saw that we weren't using the car for months in Bangalore, so I shifted the car to a relative's place in a smaller town that we visit often (at least once a month), thinking we could get more use of it there. But even here, I find I'm dusting it off and wiping the mold off the insides each time I come here! And the past few months we haven't had the car in Bangalore, hasn't made an iota of difference, that was surprising. Of course, we're lucky that we live reasonably close to a Metro station, have a bike, and life and work are flexible enough to structure around other Metro stations.

So I certainly don't see us wasting money buying another car in the future. (Though, IF a 3-door Jimny with a better engine comes in, all bets are off! )

[Mike_Schumacher]

It's simple really. The rate of increase in car prices is far greater than the rate of wage increase. Car prices are actually insane in india, plus there's the high fuel price, toll tax, horrible roads and infra. I am not surprised that the middle class is averse to buying cars.

Even in the luxury / niche segment, the value proposition of a bmw / merc / Audi doesn't make me enticed even once. My colleagues outside of India are shocked when I say a bmw x1 costs almost 80k USD on road in India.

[Vtach]

Originally Posted by DGSCS

10 years ago, small and mid sized cars accounted for 64% of all cars sold, however, today that has fallen to just 35%. There has been a decline in sale of 'middle class' cars.

People claiming that since what they beleive are the representative of middle class cars aren't selling as well as they used to THEREFORE Indian middle class isn't buying cars need a reality check, and maybe a logic-testing medical examination, if there's such a thing.

That so called middle class cars aren't doing well but Punch, Nexon, Swift, Creta/Seltos, Ertiga etc doing consistently as well as they are shows that the "middle class" has moved beyond bare bones basic boxes on wheels. It's plain as day to anyone who wants to see. These ARE the middle class cars in today's date.

Hyundai's Eon doesn't exist anymore & the likes of Datsun's Redigo sunk without a trace. Heck, Maruti's Alto was outsold by the XUV700 in July 24, a D1 segmenter.

People have moved on, it's high time these "experts" also recalliberated their understanding.

[jomson13]

I was quite surprised when I came across this thread, since what I see around me seems to be quite the opposite.

Since traffic and roads are the absolute best in class in Pune, I always use my bike to commute. Whenever I do, I see that most of the cars on the road are new, either with the BH plates, or with the connected tail lamps or a brand which wasn't selling in India around 5-7 years back.

Although I would never buy a new car (again) myself, I'm happy for the guys who do; so that I have more options to choose from in the used car market!

On a more serious note, can't we as taxpayers demand some sort of explanation from the authorities on how the money is used?
I have never understood why RTO tax is levied as a percentage of the ex showroom price - does the RTO guy need to work harder / longer to register an SUV compared to a hatchback?
And the differential tax brackets - if they were really interested in decongesting the cities by promoting smaller cars then shouldn't they bring in some sort of legislation that caps the production of the SUV's right at the OEM level?

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by DGSCS

10 years ago, small and mid sized cars accounted for 64% of all cars sold, however, today that has fallen to just 35%. There has been a decline in sale of 'middle class' cars.

Maybe change in Trend?

SUV's in demand -
A few years ago, many people were purchasing small cars as their first car or city car. However, with the SUV craze catching on like wildfire, everyone now wants to own an SUV. If you check the overall trend, you will find that most cars on the road are some kind of SUV. Even small cars are being launched with SUV designs. Many buyers who would have previously purchased hatchbacks are now shifting towards SUVs.

Too much traffic on the road -
Many people are avoiding taking their cars out during peak hours to avoid getting stuck in traffic jams. All major junctions face traffic jams these days during peak hours. People might prefer other transportation options over cars.

Conditions of roads -
Many avoid driving due to the bad condition of the roads. Especially during the rainy season, driving on bad roads with inadequate street lighting can be risky. This might deter people from purchasing cars.

Additional expenditure -
Regardless of how much you drive your car, you have to make certain expenses every year, such as servicing, petrol, toll payments, and other maintenance costs. There expenses also keep increasing every year. Considering the additional ownership costs involved, people look for other alternatives than cars.

Road rage -
With the increasing number of road rage incidents, some people might prefer avoiding car purchases. Even in the case of minor incidents, the owner of bigger vehicle or car is often considered at fault.

Better options available? -
With new transportation options like the metro or Uber/ Ola, some people might prefer using them over the hassle of owning a car.