New Delhi: Much to the delight of prospective small car buyers, leading manufacturers Hyundai Motor India and General Motors today said they would slash prices by up to Rs 16,000 to pass on benefits from the excise duty cut announced in the Budget.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in his Budget speech, has proposed to cut excise duty from 16 per cent to 12 per cent on small cars. "We have decided to pass on the benefit of the excise duty cut to customers on three models - Santro, i10 and the Getz - effective April 1," a Hyundai official told reporters.

The price cut on Santro could be between Rs 12,000 and Rs 14,000,while that on Getz would be between Rs 14,000 and Rs 16,000. Price cut on the newly launched i10 could be between Rs 12,000 and Rs 16,000, the official added. General Motors is also cutting he price of its small cars Spark and Aveo U-VA.

"We will be cutting the prices of our small cars between Rs 7,500 and Rs 14,000," GM India Vice-President P Balendran said. Meanwhile, rival Maruti officials said the company was studying the impact of the excise cut before taking any steps.

Source : PTI