Do you look out for exciting car deals often? If yes, there is one amazing deal on electric cars and am sure this one is too good to miss out. Auto majors are trying to woo customers to shift to electric cars and to ensure their endeavour are effective; they are lowering the price of entry to the zero-emission lifestyle.

Huge margins of discounts are offered on mainstream-brand plug-in cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Fiat 500e, combined with local electric-vehicle, federal and state incentives could make drivers happy with low burden on their pockets. However, there are two conditions to it: Drivers needs to stay in states offering tax incentives and he/she can’t drive very far in a day.

As per Hybridcars.com data, plug-in cars recorded less than 1 percent of total four-wheeler sales in US, in the first four month of 2013. However, the sales figure is double in comparison to last year sales for the same duration. Car makers in the US are facing mounting pressure in dozen states to increase electric car sales. As per the California mandate, by 2018, auto makers have to sale up to 4.5% of “zero-emission” cars. And electric car sales should account for more than 15 percent of total car sales in the state.

As of now, the mandate’s rules look highly impossible to achieve the mentioned targets. Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S, were the only two all-electric models that sold more than 1,000 units during the first quarter of this year. Few auto makers are trying to block the California mandate, where few are encouraging consumers to shift to electric vehicles, which could bring them more profits keeping in mind strict emission regulations.

Though, this fabulous deal is not for Indian consumers. But looking at the ever increasing fuel prices the idea of shifting to all-electric cars sounds economical and attractive in India. Great if more electric charge centres are set up for easy charge facility. More consumers shifting to electric vehicles is sure to reduce fossil fuel related pollution and lessen the nation’s monetary burden of importing oil from abroad.

The Indian automotive scene has witnessed sluggish demand in the domestic market for sometimes now. Reason for weaker buying sentiments cannot be blamed for a single factor. Domestic as well as global economic growth has been essentially weak with tough economic conditions. Adding to it, high fuel price is increasing vehicle maintenance cost for car owners. Among all, high interest rate is one of the major factors that affect customers buying sentiment because at the end of the day it matters what consumers pay as EMI every month.

In India 85% of car purchase are financed, so interest rates contribute immensely in slowing demand. Car loans interest rates at present range between 10% – 14% on an average, which hurts consumers’ affordability. In general, most of the car consumers have home loans, which increase their economic burden monthly. In the last 6-8 years, interest rates on cars have increased remarkably. With increase raw material cost, prices of vehicles have also increase by Rs. 1 – Rs. 1.5 lakh in the A & B segment. And this increase in price means higher monetary load on the consumers which eventually decreases demand.

Another important trend is the shift of petrol to diesel cars due to low fuel cost. It has created capacity issue in the Indian automotive space. Now diesel car sales accounts for more than 75% in the Indian market. Auto majors have tried to boost sales in the festive season of October – January period, with attractive discount offers to clear piling up inventories. But demand remained lacklustre even in festive season with huge discount margins.

With increasing fuel price, falling economic growth and high interest rates, the demands are likely to remain dull in the next two quarter. On the consumers’ front, low rate of interests will definitely help raise demand and increase affordability. But seeing the overall economic growth, it is likely to be a short term respite for struggling auto makers in India.

Two German giants are getting ready to battle it out at one of the most competitive auto space of Indian market. BMW and Mercedes-Benz finally have thought of rolling out their products into the ‘people favourite segment’ of the country, the hatchback arena. Small car costing over Rs. 20 lakh which was once supposed to be a lunatic thought has made it to reality in the 21st century. Thanks to auto marques, the gap between various segments like luxury cars, small cars, high-performance SUVs and various other segments is being cemented with some wonderful products which are coming out one after the other. With increase in number of models competition has increased which has blessed customers to experience newer technologies and equipment, leading to advancement in the industry.

Among the two German brands Mercedes-Benz was the first to rollout a premium hatchback on Indian roads. Mercedes-Benz B-Class, which was launched in 2012, has received lukewarm response in the country. This touring car is big in terms of luxury and features some high-end equipment like ATTENTION ASSIST, Seat Comfort Package and Audio 20 CD with 14.7 cm TFT screen. Soon after the launch of this automobile in 2012 there was buzz about Mercedes A-Class in India. Rumors said that the small car of Mercedes’ portfolio might be launched by mid-2013. The rumors are about to be true since the new luxury hatchback is expected to be rolled out by the end of May, 2013. The auto marque is marketing this new car aggressively on the digital platform. The hatchback may get a 1.8L turbocharged diesel or a 1.5L diesel engine in its line-up and these engines feature ECO Start/Stop and BLUEFFICIENCY which are meant to increase fuel economy of the vehicle. The company claims that mileage of A-Class diesel version can be as high as 20 kmpl. To give an authoritative drive there will be a 7G-Dual Clutch Triple-shaft transmission working in the powertrain of the A-Class.

On the other side BMW has confirmed the launch of its entry-level hatchback the BMW 1 Series in India which is expected to take place in the months to come. Competing against the contender from Merc’s court this high-end hatch is sold with 1.6L petrol and 2.0L diesel engines internationally. The engines are tuned to give different levels of power output and they have different fuel economy figures depending on the power produced.

Although these cars come out as smallest models from the respective portfolios of their parents, they are much bigger in terms of size, performance, comfort level and price when compared to other regular hatchbacks in India. When pitched against each other pricing can turn out to be an important factor for both Mercedes-Benz and BMW. With DCT and powerful engines the price of Mercedes-Benz A-Class in India may range between Rs. 19 lakh and Rs. 23 lakh as the basic. On the other hand Rs. 18 lakh to Rs. 22 lakh might turn out to be the ex-showroom price of BMW 1 Series in India.