Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra announced on social media that the company will start offering revised discounts from September 6. | Image:
Republic
The automobile industry is preparing for a big change after the government announced new Goods and Services Tax (GST) slabs for vehicles.
The revised tax rates will officially apply from September 22, but Mahindra & Mahindra has decided to act earlier.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra announced on social media that the company will start offering revised discounts from September 6. In his post, he wrote “Action. Not just promises” and said that customers could enjoy savings of up to Rs 1.56 lakh on select models.
Big Savings on Popular Models
The biggest price cut is on diesel models. The XUV3XO (Diesel) will now be cheaper by up to Rs 1.56 lakh because its GST rate has been reduced from 31 percent to 18 percent.
Petrol models are also seeing reductions. The XUV3XO (Petrol) comes with benefits of up to Rs 1.40 lakh, while the Thar 2WD (Diesel) will be cheaper by up to Rs 1.35 lakh.
Other popular models such as the Bolero and Scorpio Classic are also included in the price cuts, with benefits of up to Rs 1.27 lakh and Rs 1.01 lakh.
Larger SUVs are also part of the restructuring. The Scorpio-N, Thar Roxx and XUV700 were previously taxed at 48 percent but now fall under the 40 percent slab, giving customers benefits of up to Rs 1.45 lakh, Rs 1.33 lakh and Rs 1.43 lakh.
GST Restructuring and Industry Impact
The decision to revise GST rates has been welcomed by the automobile sector. Anand Mahindra praised the move and highlighted that keeping the GST rate on electric vehicles at five percent is an important step for India’s clean mobility mission.
The new GST structure also makes petrol, diesel, hybrid, LPG and CNG cars cheaper if they meet engine and length limits. Smaller cars with petrol or hybrid engines up to 1200 cc and under 4000 mm in length will now be taxed at 18 percent instead of 28 percent.
Diesel and diesel hybrid cars up to 1500 cc and under 4000 mm in length will also get the lower tax rate.
Three-wheelers, motorcycles up to 350 cc and goods transport vehicles are now under the 18 percent slab as well. These changes are expected to improve affordability and encourage more sales.
Expert Analysis
Market intelligence firm Crisil has said that the new GST structure will help the auto sector. Customers will pay less for cars and two-wheelers, which will increase demand, while manufacturers will benefit from higher sales.
According to the analysis, the prices of small cars like hatchbacks and compact sedans may fall by almost 8.5 percent. Larger sedans, compact SUVs, mid-sized SUVs and MPVs may become cheaper by about 3.5 percent.
Premium SUVs and bigger MPVs may see a reduction of about 6.7 percent.
Two-wheelers are also set to be more affordable, with most ICE bikes dropping in price by nearly 7.8 percent, although premium bikes with engines above 350 cc could become more expensive by about 6.9 percent.
