With a bumper Navratri behind them, carmakers are gearing up for a big Diwali. Dealers for the country's top two players — Maruti and Hyundai — told FE retail sales have risen 15-16% during the nine-day-long festival driven by fairly chunky discounts. Channel checks by Bank of America Merrill Lynch reveal retail sales are 10-15% higher for most passenger vehicle makers. Entry segment cars — Hyundai's Eon and Maruti's Alto — appear to have been popular picks thanks to big discounts on these products of anywhere between 10% and 12% of the average sale price. "OEMs are offering aggressive discount schemes of 5-7% of the ASP — insurance and cash discounts — along with exchange offers — 2-5% of the ASP — to push retail volume," analysts at the brokerage wrote. Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India, told FE the sentiment was good.