Sony seeks reduction of import duty to counter grey segment

Chennai, Feb 7 (UNI) Concerned over the grey segment dominating the car audio market in the country, Sony India Product Head (In-car Entertainment) Vivek Handoo today appealed to the Centre to support the official market by reducing import duty.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the car audio market had huge potential in the country due to boom in automobile industry.

While Sony was a leader in the official market with a share of 50 to 51 per cent, 65 per cent of the Rs 800-crore market had been garnered by the grey segment at present, he said.

Stating that companies in the official market had a disadvantage of paying heavy duties up to 37 per cent, he said, ''we expect a little bit of support from the Government in this regard.'' Announcing the launch of its new line-up of Xplod car audio products for the year, Mr Handoo said 21 new models including six CD/MP3 headunits, eight speakers, four subwoofers, two amplifiers and one visual product, would be unveiled by April end.

Seeking to dispel ''misconceptions'' that Sony products were expensive, he said the price range of the new products was from Rs 6,990 to Rs 19,000.

Products for niche segment, ranging from Rs 35,000 to Rs 65,000, had also been launched, he added.

Mr Handoo said the grey market was very strong in Tamil Nadu due to the presence of a port in Chennai city.

He said Sony's new products would be made available even in the interiors of the state through a strong distribution network.

Plans were also afoot to open Xplod Pit Stops, the company's exclusive brand stores, in Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli and Madurai before this fiscal, he added.

UNI