Nissan Motor Co. announced it has cut the prices of its vehicles between 4 and 6 percent.
The new prices will be effective from Tuesday, Feb. 18, according to Business Standard. The decision was made as a result of a decrease in excise duty in the interim budget.
President of Nissan India Operations Kenichiro Yomura stated his confidence in the decision to cut the prices, NDTV reported.
"The reduction in excise duty is a welcome move towards revival of the Indian automobile industry," Yomura said. "We at Nissan are happy to pass 100% of the tax benefits to our customers. We are confident this will make our products more accessible and drive growth across the range."
Rakesh Srivastava, Sr. Vice President of Sales and marketing, stated the benefits the cut will have for the vehicles' affordability, Business Standard reported.
"The reduction in excise duty would substantially reduce the prices, making cars more affordable," Srivastava said. "The quantum of benefit will vary from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,35,300 across all the models."
Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced Nissan has seen a reduction in excise duty on different vehicles, ZeeBiz reported. Small cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, and scooters experienced a reduction to 8 percent from 12 percent, and SUV's saw a reduction to 24 from 30 percent. An excise reduction from 27 percent to 24 took place for larger vehicles, as well as for mid-sized vehicles from 24 percent to 20 percent.
Vehicles affected by Nissan India's price slash include Sunny, Micra Active, Evalia, Micra, Terrano and Teana, according to The Hindu.
Nissan is one of the many automobile manufacturers who announced it will be cutting prices, The Hindu reported. Maruti Suzuki announced a price cut for its entry-level Alto hatchback, and Mahindra & Mahindra announced it will do the same for its passenger vehicles and premium SUV Rexton. Hyundai and Volkswagen have also taken part in price slashes.
