Tata Offers Car Buyback Plan in India

Tata Motors Ltd. is fighting India's sluggish car sales with price cuts and a buyback guarantee on its Manza Club Class sedans.

For Manzas sold through the end of April, the company promises to repurchase the sedan from customers after three years for 60% of the original price.

This week Tata reduced prices on some of models, including the Manza Club Class, by as much as 50,000 rupees ($910). The company's passenger vehicle sales plunged 70% last month to 10,600 vehicles.

Other automakers also have slashed prices in recent days. General Motors chopped 30,000 rupees ($550), or 7%, from the price of the Chevrolet Sail hatchback it introduced four months ago. Local news reports say such companies as Hyundai, Mahindra, Nissan and Renault are discounting cars by 5%-10%.

SUVs whose sales surged 57% to 451,900 units from April 2012 through January are another story. Several big companies, including Toyota, hiked SUV prices last weekend to pass along an increase in the country's manufacturer's tax, The Wall Street Journal reports. It says Mahindra and Tata are now charging as much as 35,000 rupees ($640) and 40,000 ($730) rupees more, respectively, for several SUV models.