9911796707
TMI Blog2024 (11) TMI 1000X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... appear to be a dominant player in the market. Therefore, in the opinion of the Commission, a case of violation of the provisions of Section 4 of the Act cannot be made out against the OP. Further, the Commission also notes that the grievance raised by the Informant is an inter-se dispute between the Informant and the OP regarding price of the product sold by the OP to the Informant. In the opinion of the Commission, on the basis of the grievances alleged by the Informant, no competition issue or concern seems to arise from the facts and allegations stated by the Informant. Once a buyer purchases a product from a seller at a given price, it cannot insist to avail benefit of any future discount which may be offered on such product by the sel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... OP, without sharing prices and delivery time frame of the car, picked up over 30,000 bookings of Jimny in the first 5 months of its launch. 4. As per the Information, the car was launched in June 2023 when prices and delivery time frame of the same was announced. The base model called Zeta MT was launched at ₹12.74 lacs (ex-showroom price) and the other models were priced accordingly. As per the Informant, this was an unreal price for the product as the market was expecting the prices to be around ₹10.00 lacs. Further, as per the Informant, a lot of dealers forced accessories, extended warranty etc. to customers before promising delivery of their much-awaited Jimny . 5. The Informant has stated that by its such conduct, the OP ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iscount of any product varies from dealer to dealer depending on many factors including inventory levels. The Informant then replied to the e-mail of the OP enclosing corporate advertisement of Jimny released by the OP stating the price of Thunder edition as ₹10.74 lacs and stating that this was a company communication to the public and not a dealer advertisement. Also, the Informant intimated to the OP that a dealer cannot give such discount without receiving support from the company and that the OP was just passing the buck onto the dealers. In reply, the Informant received an e-mail from the OP stating that the advertisement pertained to a limited edition vehicle and there was no discount. Nevertheless, the OP confirmed that it has ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 77;10.74 lacs, laced with several freebie accessories and extended warranty free of cost, which not only led to the initial customers of Jimny, who had bought the car from the OP at higher prices, feeling cheated, but also led to a downfall in the resale prices of the cars purchased by them as this new model was available at a discount of around ₹2.30 lacs. Further, the Commission notes that the Informant seems to be aggrieved by the fact that when he asked the OP for a refund of the excess amount paid by him for purchasing the Jimny cars, the OP refused to provide him such refund. 12. Evidently, the Informant has made allegations with regard to abuse of dominant position by the OP. As such, the first step the Commission shall advert ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ting its high market share. 16. Further, it is noted that passenger vehicle segment can also be further sub-divided into various categories viz. Hatchback, Sedan, SUV and MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicles). 17. As the allegations made in the present Information pertain to the car Jimny , an SUV, it is noted from the information available in the public domain SUVs - India | Statista Market Forecast, https://www.statista.com/outlook/mmo/passenger-cars/suvs/india, last accessed on 19.04.2024. that the sale of SUVs in the passenger vehicle market in India in 2022 and 2023 by several automobile manufacturers, were as under: 2022 S. No. Automobile Manufacturer Number of SUV sold in India 1. Ford 35,600 2. Honda 41,600 3. Hyundai 1,30,500 4. Mahindra 2, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... P to the Informant. In the opinion of the Commission, on the basis of the grievances alleged by the Informant, no competition issue or concern seems to arise from the facts and allegations stated by the Informant. Once a buyer purchases a product from a seller at a given price, it cannot insist to avail benefit of any future discount which may be offered on such product by the seller. The discounted price alleged also does not seem to be predatory in nature. 20. In view of the above, the Commission is of the considered opinion that no prima facie case of contravention of the provisions of Section 4 of the Act is made out against the OP in the present matter. Hence, the matter is directed to be closed in terms of the provisions contained in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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