Looks like the December discount scheme has worked for Maruti and Hyundai. December is apparently a time of the year when car sales slump due to the year model factor. A car bought in December this year would have lesser resale value as compared to a January model in the coming year. However, for the same reason, December is also a time of the year when car makers offer heavy discounts on most of their models.

The gimmick has worked well for Maruti and Hyundai. Indians and discounts can’t be separated from each other. Maruti reported a 10 per cent increase in sales. Popular models such as Swift, WagonR, Zen Estilo and Alto have reported a northward trend while the 800 hasn’t fared so well. The company has sold roughly 6000 units more than it did during the same period in 2006. Similarly, Hyundai has managed to sell 4000 more than the year 2006 figure of 11,000.

Much like Maruti, Hyundai kept appearing in the news frequently in 2007 with launches of the Sonata Embera Diesel, Getz Prime, Santro CNG, Sonata Embera AT and the much hyped i10. This had left consumers extremely interested.

No doubt the companies devised the discount scheme to tide over slow sales and low interest rates but they finally got the nerve of the Indian consumer. Be it soaps, shampoos, electronics or even cars, discounts do sell!