The additional taxes are levied with a view to curb down the use of diesel vehicles in order to fight the increasing air pollution in the country.
The Union Government has announced the budget for the financial year 2016-17 and it nowhere helps the automobile makers. Budget 2016 has levied an additional tax of 1 percent on luxury cars priced above Rs. 10 lakhs and 4 percent infrastructure cess on high capacity diesel cars and SUVs. We have put together a list of 10 cars that will be most affected by these so called reforms.
Toyota Corolla Altis
The all-new Toyota Corolla Altis is priced from Rs. 13,06,324/- (ex-showroom, Delhi) which will attract an additional cost of 1 percent while the luxury sedan is experiencing a fall in the already struggling sales and the sedan managed to sell only 361 units in January.
Toyota Innova
The Toyota Innova is the country’s favourite UV which is preferred by both cabbies and personal users, it will be drastically affected as both the 1 percent additional tax and 4 percent infra cess will be levied. The MPV is priced from Rs. 10,61,587/- and the price will now increase by Rs. 53,079.35/-
Chevrolet Cruze
The Chevrolet Cruze is losing popularity with passing time and the new reforms will levy 1 percent additional tax to Rs. 13.95 lakhs, the luxury sedan’s starting price while the sale was as low as 113 units in January.
Hyundai Creta SX (O) Diesel
The Hyundai Creta and Elite i20 are two prime models from the automaker in the Indian market and the compact SUV is loved for the premium feel it provides. But the new tax reforms will increase the price of its top end SX (O) diesel variant by Rs. 68,000/- as it is entitled to both 1 percent additional tax and 4 percent infra cess.
Ford EcoSport
The Ford EcoSport is another successful compact SUV in the Indian market which is now losing its position due to the launch of competitors such as the Hyundai Creta. The price of two variants of the compact SUV namely 1.0-litre EcoBoost Titanium+ MT and 1.5-litre diesel Titanium+ MT will be increased by Rs. 50,510/- and Rs. 53,255/- respectively due to the additional levy of 5 percent.
Mahindra XUV500
When we talk about diesel powered SUVs, Mahindra won’t be too far from the matter, similarly, the Mahindra XUV500 will be affected by the latest reforms that will lead to an increase of Rs. 56,050/- as both the 1 percent tax and 4 percent infra cess are levied on the SUV.
Volkswagen Jetta
The Volkswagen Jetta is another sedan to be charged with an additional tax of 1 percent due to its price being above Rs. 10 lakhs. The luxury sedan will see a rise of Rs. 14,152/- which will hinder the already weak demand.
Volkswagen Vento
Volkswagen is experiencing tough times with the emission scandal having reached Indian shores, however, even during such situation, the Vento’s sales increased by 37 percent in January. Certain variants of the sedan that are priced above Rs. 10 lakhs will be affected by the additional levies.
Maruti S-Cross
The Maruti S-Cross was launched in the Indian market last year but it was not able to impress a lot of buyers due to overpricing. Looking at this, the automaker slashed the prices of the crossover by Rs. 1 lakh, however, some variants of the S-Cross will see a hike of 1 percent due to the additional levy.
Renault Duster
Before the Kwid was launched, Renault was entirely dependent on the Duster for its survival in the Indian market but the compact SUV has been losing ground due to the recent launches of competitors such as the Hyundai Creta. The prices of this struggling product will see a hike of 5 percent as some of the diesel powered variants are priced above Rs. 10 lakhs