On-road price of every car in India

Ex-showroom is the manufacturer’s price plus GST and cess — the number in every advertisement. On-road price is what leaves your account: ex-showroom plus state road tax, first-year insurance, TCS above ₹10 lakh, any state cess, FASTag and the dealer’s handling charge. The gap is typically 10% to 25% of the ex-showroom price, and almost all of that variation is road tax.

Road tax is a state subject, so each state writes its own lifetime-tax slab. On a ₹9 lakh petrol car the tax is 6% in Gujarat and Delhi but 15% in Karnataka — a difference of ₹81,000 on the same car. Most states also charge 1–2% extra on diesels and some add a flat infrastructure cess.

Yes. Tax Collected at Source is 1% on any car with an ex-showroom price above ₹10 lakh. It is not a fee — it is an advance income-tax payment in your name, and you claim it back or set it off when you file your return. Keep the dealer’s TCS certificate.

Handling, logistics and “dealer charges” are the dealer’s own margin and are negotiable — some waive them entirely. Insurance is negotiable in the sense that you are free to buy it elsewhere; dealers make a commission on it. Road tax, TCS, cess and registration are statutory and fixed. Accessory and extended-warranty add-ons pushed into the quote are optional.

No, and it is a common trap. Road tax is paid where the car is registered, which must be where the owner lives. Moving a car to another state for more than 12 months means re-registering it and paying that state’s tax again, with only a partial refund of the original. The saving on paper rarely survives the paperwork.

The first year is the most expensive because a new car must carry three years of third-party cover along with own-damage cover. Renewals from year two are usually noticeably cheaper, and the own-damage premium falls as the car depreciates. The figure here is a typical comprehensive quote, not a specific one.