Enquiries up by 45-50%
Thanks to the spiralling petrol prices, diesel cars seem to be in demand now, be it new or used cars. Being a price sensitive market, Ahmedabad has seen nearly 45-50 per cent of enquiries for used car sales shift towards diesel variants, up from 25-30 per cent few months back.
Petrol prices have gone up six times in the last six months, resulting in around a 16-17 per cent rise in its prices. A litre of petrol in Ahmedabad now costs around Rs 68, while diesel is relatively much lower at Rs 42 for a litre.
Used car dealers in the city reported a surge in enquiries for popular diesel models in the last two to three months. "While sales of diesel variants are up by around 25 per cent, the enquiries are up in the range of 45-50 per cent. In comparison, demand of petrol variants is down by almost 25-30 per cent," said Suresh Waghnani of Jolly Motors, a used car dealer at Navrangpura, an area in Ahmedabad considered as one of the biggest used car trading markets of Gujarat.
However, the trend might change in the long term. "At present buyers are reacting to the spiralling petrol prices since diesel prices are yet to be de-regulated by the Centre," Waghnani added.
Kishorebhai, another city based dealer, pointed out that there is a general perception in the public that petrol prices might soon touch the Rs 100 mark, and as compressed natural gas (CNG) prices are also showing an upward graph, enquiries for diesel cars have gone up significantly.
"One of the reasons behind diesel car demand leaving CNG vehicles behind is the issue of warranty. Recent fire accidents in the city have prompted buyers to re-consider going in for retrofitted CNG kits," he added.
According to dealers in the city, a diesel engine gives higher mileage (almost 1.5 times) compared to petrol engine, and is currently around 38 per cent cheaper than petrol. In effect, the running cost of a diesel car is almost half of that of a petrol car.
However, at the same time, a diesel car needs frequent servicing. "While a petrol vehicle needs to go to the service center every 10,000 kilometers, for a diesel vehicle the frequency of servicing is much higher at intervals of 5,000 km each. A buyer has to factor in the dynamics of car usage when he decides to buy a car", a Navrangpura based dealer cautioned.
Ahmedabad, traditionally, has been a matured market for diesel vehicles, be it new or used cars. Maruti Suzuki sells over 60 per cent units of its popular hatchback model Swift on the diesel platform. Around 20 per cent of Hyundai i-20 sales, and around 60 per cent of Ford Figo sales in the state too come from their diesel versions, claimed industry insiders.
These are the same models that are also making a mark in the used car segment.
"As demand for used diesel cars are on the rise, enquiries for the tried and tested diesel models like the Maruti Suzuki Swift, SX4 sedan, Tata Motors Indica, Hyundai i-10 and i-20 are up,"said Jainee P Gordhandas, promoter of BigGaddi.com.
