G BALACHANDAR Chennai, May 13

As the auto industry reopensafter a total lockdown, car-makers are trying to create pos-itive sentiments among pro-spective buyers by way ofattractive fi��nancing schemesand other initiatives.

As 80 per cent of the cars pur-chased are fi��nanced, passengervehicle makers believe that at-tractive fi��nancing schemes willhelp woo customers to buy cars.

Companies like Hyundai Mo-tor India, Maruti Suzuki, TataMotors and Renault India,among others, have been work-ing out attractive fi��nancingschemes, including fl��exibleschemes, to woo prospectivebuyers.

Hyundai has come out withwhat it calls the industry-fi��rstEMI Assurance Scheme underwhich it off��ers to pay three EMIson behalf of the customers ifthey are faced with some uncer-tainties after 90 days of thevehicle purchase. Hyundai willpay those three EMIs and it isnot a postponement.

Also, it has introduced fi��ve dif-ferent fi��nancing schemes thatoff��er several fl��exible optionssuch as low EMI initially, and lowEMI with a longer tenure, amongothers.

Economic challenges“In this current environment,there are many economic chal-lenges. We feel prospective cus-tomers may have concerns overuncertainties such as loss of job.So, we have devised an innovat-ive scheme to give peace ofmind to the customers,” TarunGarg, Director (Sales, Marketingand Service), HMIL, toldBusinessLine.

Maruti Suzuki has also beentalking to at least 12 banks for

lower interest charges and fl��ex-ible fi��nancing options. “Attract-ive fi��nancing schemes and ex-pediting disbursal will helpattract customers who other-wise could have deferred theirpurchase decision,” said SubrataRay, Group Vice President-Cor-porate Ratings, ICRA.

In addition to attractive lim-ited period off��ers, Tata Motors isfacilitating up to 100 per centon-road funding of its entirerange of cars and SUVs.

Long-tenure EMIs“Customers can also take ad-vantage of the long-tenure EMIschemes (up to eight years) thuslowering the amount of theirmonthly EMI payments. The op-

tion of customising the EMI pay-ments every year in line withtheir cash fl��ows off��ers additionalconvenience and enhances be-nefi��ts,” according to a spokes-person of Tata Motors.

French car maker Renault hasalso rolled out a host of cus-tomer-focused off��ers. Under its‘Buy Now Pay Later’ scheme, cus-tomers can buy any Renault carin May and start paying the EMIafter three months from thedate of purchase. The off��er canbe availed either at the dealer-ship, or on the Renault Indiawebsite, or the My Renault app.

Its fi��nancing arm Renault Fin-ance has announced pro-grammes such as job loss coverand EMI protect plan. There arealso off��ers across the productrange including cash off��ers, ex-change benefi��ts and fi��nance at aspecial rate of 8.99 per cent.

However, Ray pointed out thatin the current environment, fi��n-anciers will turn more cautiousin lending and the overall loanapproval process may get exten-ded.

“The share of banks and cap-tive fi��nanciers will increasewhereas the share of otherNBFCs will witness moderation,”he added.

Offer attractivefi��nancing options

Carmakers pull out all the stops to woo buyers

Car companies are trying to create positive sentiments among prospective buyers