Both cars no longer benefit from the FAME India Scheme.
In March, the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises announced that mild-hybrid vehicles would not receive benefits under the FAME India Scheme from 1 April 2017. Just months later, with the GST effective from 1 July 2017, both Ciaz and Ertiga are about to see major price hikes.
Maruti Suzuki calls its cars with mild-hybrid tech 'Smart Hybrid'. The Maruti Ertiga Smart Hybrid starts at INR 7,68,494 (ex-showroom Delhi), and the Maruti Ciaz Smart Hybrid starts at INR 7,88,690 (ex-showroom Delhi). The models are powered by a 1.3-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that produces 66 kW (88.47 hp) at 4,000 rpm and 200 Nm of torque at 1,750 rpm. The BS IV-compliant engine is paired to a 5-speed manual transmission as standard.
Under GST, hybrid cars are taxed at the same level as the conventional petrol and diesel cars. While IAB awaits more clarity, reports suggest that irrespective of the length or engine capacity, factors which matter in the Cess charged on for conventional petrol and diesel, hybrid cars will get taxed at 43% (GST: 28%, Cess: 15%). A Maruti Suzuki spokesperson has confirmed to carandbike that the Maruti Ciaz SHVS and Maruti Ertiga SHVS will see a price hike on 1 July 2017. Prices are expected to increase by around INR 1 lakh.
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With the incentives taken away, the company may shelve plans for the Baleno mild-hybrid which was reported to arrive this year. Needless to say, India will not get the hybrid variant of new generation Swift.
[Source: carandbike]
