"GST Regime Not Conducive to Auto Sales, Long Shot to Expect Any Rationalisation"
An industry that’s been struggling for several quarters now seems to have found an unlikely outlier. Mercedes-Benz India delivered record cars during the festive period of Navratri and Dussehra. The company delivered 550 Mercedes-Benz to customers - Delhi alone saw 175 units delivered, while Mumbai and Gujarat emerged as other key markets.
In a free-wheeling chat with Mitali Mukherjee, Martin Schwenk. Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt Ltd. said the company was quite optimistic about sales for the Dhanteras – Diwali period as well, and expected sales in October to be 25% higher than September figures.
He also said that North India was picking up traction, even as he warned that things were not ‘normal’ yet and he didn’t expect the next year to see a normalisation of trends either.
On the contentious GST issue, that has seen much debate in the Auto Sector Mr Schwenk said it was an extremely long shot to expect any rationalisation in the GST structure.
He pointed out that the current tax regime was not conducive to sales; Mercedes Benz attracts GST of between 48 -50% and an additional 20% for road taxes.
However, Mr Schwenk said he believed the passenger vehicle industry was witnessing a pick up as the need for a reliable personal vehicle is now, even as 2 wheeler sales are struggling – perhaps a sign of how different economic sections of the country are feeling the impact of a slowdown.
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In a free-wheeling chat with Mitali Mukherjee, Martin Schwenk. Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt Ltd. said the company was quite optimistic about sales for the Dhanteras – Diwali period as well, and expected sales in October to be 25% higher than September figures.
He also said that North India was picking up traction, even as he warned that things were not ‘normal’ yet and he didn’t expect the next year to see a normalisation of trends either.
On the contentious GST issue, that has seen much debate in the Auto Sector Mr Schwenk said it was an extremely long shot to expect any rationalisation in the GST structure.
He pointed out that the current tax regime was not conducive to sales; Mercedes Benz attracts GST of between 48 -50% and an additional 20% for road taxes.
However, Mr Schwenk said he believed the passenger vehicle industry was witnessing a pick up as the need for a reliable personal vehicle is now, even as 2 wheeler sales are struggling – perhaps a sign of how different economic sections of the country are feeling the impact of a slowdown.
Like our work? Click here to support The Wire: https://thewire.in/support
The founding premise of The Wire is this: if good journalism is to survive and thrive, it can only do so by being both editorially and financially independent. This means relying principally on contributions from readers and concerned citizens who have no interest other than to sustain a space for quality journalism. As a publication, The Wire will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.
We publish in four different languages!
For English, visit www.thewire.in
for Hindi: http://thewirehindi.com/
for Urdu: http://thewireurdu.com
for Marathi: https://marathi.thewire.in
If you are a young writer or a creator, you can submit articles, essays, photos, poetry – anything that’s straight out of your imagination – to LiveWire, The Wire’s portal for the young, by the young. https://livewire.thewire.in/
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