To the shock of another twist, the Alto has been surpassed by an inferiorly priced SUV-influenced hatchback car from Maruti Suzuki, the S-Presso. Considering the sweeping tax cut associated with GST 2.0, the S-Preso now costs only Rs 3.50 lakh (ex-showroom).
GST 2.0 Relieves the historic prices
Even in small cars, it has been creating nothing but an upward trend for decades. GST 2.0 has varied that and reduced the duties on sub 4 meter petrol automatic cars to merely 18 per cent without duty at all. The infrequent and severe shrinkage has enabled Maruti to transfer its massive savings to its mainstream models.
The largest winner was the S-Presso, whose prices had gone down by as much as 1.2 lakh on several trims. STD, as its base variant, fell by Rs 4.27 lakh to Rs 3.50 lakh, and the LXI experienced the biggest adjustment of Rs 1.2 lakh and is now priced at Rs 3.80 lakh. Comparatively, the base price of the Alto K10 had stabilised at 3.70 lakh.
Sport Utility Vehicles Styling at entry-level prices
The most notable part about this development is that the cheapest car produced in India is now modelled in the shape of a crossover SUV. Although the fundamentals of the S-Presso are still squashed with a more hatchback base, the tall attitude, the position that you can drive in, and the rugged look provide a touch of the SUV style to the buyer on a budget, yet priced higher than the low-cost two-wheelers.
This is a huge bet Maruti is making with respect to the repositioning targeting young first-time buyers interested in the aspects of affordability coupled with presence. Nevertheless, they have only two airbags on the S-Presso as compared to the Alto K10 and Celerio, which have been advanced to have six airbags as standard.
A Shift in the Entry-Level Car Market
The new price positioning of the S-Presso is an indicator of a greater change. The buyer of cars at the entry level is aspirational, and SUVs, including small-sized models are more attractive than the usual hatchbacks. This action will add to the breath of life in the shrinking low-end segment, or not, is yet to be seen, but Maruti has made history by making an SUV the cheapest Indian car.
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