As the Auto Expo enters its last day on 11th January 2012, the car makers would get another big reason to rejoice, with the most popular festival of South India, Pongal, waiting round the corner. As a matter of fact, the four-day long harvest festival is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm, especially in Tamil Nadu. Pongal arrives during the mid-days of January every year and marks the auspicious start of Uttarayan.
According to experts, the four-wheeler business grows significantly around the festive time. As per car dealers, "In general many people opt for an auspicious day for taking delivery of the vehicle. This props up the sales during festive seasons."
Car companies gear up for January that happens to the month of Pongal. Usually, car manufacturers come up with lucrative schemes for customers or count on all-new models to boost the sales chart in the market. Luxury car market that would see the entry of SUV Audi Q3, the new futuristic A3 e-tron concept, the sporty Audi S6 limousine, the Audi Q7 V12, BMW Mini Cooper, Mercedes-Benz A-Class and other coveted products would also count on the festive boost.
Maruti Suzuki will celebrate the festive season with its debut MPV offering, Ertiga, along with Hybrid and Sports versions of Swift. Hyundai will primarily bank upon its new Sonata to tick the sales numbers in Indian auto sector during the Pongal time.
Toyota is ready with a strong line-up of facelifts in the form of new versions of Camry, Fortuner and Innova. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will emerge as the most confident auto maker as it would ride on the shoulders of successful XUV500 and Ssangyong's Actyon and Rexton to strive and gain maximum sales during the boom period of January.
Pongal would come as another booster for the car sales in India that has been burdened under the price rise and high interest rate menace from a long time.
