Car buying trends acrosss India

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by speedzak

Bike taxis! Yes, they do exist. Only seen and heard in Cochin.

1. Never knew that!

2. Bike taxis have been running in Goa for quite a few years now. They are the preferred mode of transport.

PLUS - I've seen more jeeps in Malappuram District than I have seen in any other part of the world. Every 2nd vehicle is a Jeep!

[tsk1979]

Calicut district kerala, Jeeps rule.
We used to go from our college(REC) to city for the late night movie show by hiring a jeep. So imagine 15 people in a mahindra jeep zooming on twisties at night .
M800 was also very popular in that coastal town, with a few mercs owned by the Jewelery shops, which were more abundant than Kiryana shops!
Back in 2000, any sedan was still a "big car" in that region, and people preferred functionality and simplicity to showoff.
I guess things wouldn't have changed much there even now!

[Jomz]

Kerala.. another place For Jeeps Is the Rubber Belt... Kottayam - Thituvalla..

OT Btw.. tsK1979... Calicut REC??? I met a senior... Me too from there 2002 batch mech

[sreenivass]

Originally Posted by kkr2k2

Hey buddy, you have missed out the Octavias, NHCs, Fiestas and Accents ! ! !
And what about the indicabs and quallis??

Skoda already in, I was mentioning more of private vehicles. indicabs and qualises are every where (all cities), are they not. I'd agree with NHCs and accents, have not seen that many fiestas and aveos.

BTW, it does not look like we have left out many cars manufactured in india.

[sgmuser]

in Kerala : Saw lots of Mahindra (Esp in Malappuram dist)
Chennai : Santro, Santros, Santrosss and more Santros
Mumbai : Lots of imported cars (including some exotics like imported Beemers)
Pune : Tata Indi Ca,Cab,Go!

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Jomz

OT Btw.. tsK1979... Calicut REC??? I met a senior... Me too from there 2002 batch mech

I passed out in 2001, ECE. Its a small world!

[adya33]

Originally Posted by sajo

PUNE : If someone is rich, they mostly prefer to have a Mercedes than any other luxury sedan, unlike Mumbai people, who buy other brands too. .

In all fairness until few years ago there was no other option than going for Mercedes. But if you look for newly registered cars you will find more Camry/sonata/accord than Merc C class. But at the same time the number of E class ans S class on Pune roads is increasing.

Originally Posted by sajo

I read somewhere that Pune has the highest number of Mercs after Mumbai in India

There was article in Times of India few months ago where it said that there are largest number of Mercedes in Kolhapur.

[sajo]

Originally Posted by adya33

In all fairness until few years ago there was no other option than going for Mercedes. But if you look for newly registered cars you will find more Camry/sonata/accord than Merc C class. But at the same time the number of E class ans S class on Pune roads is increasing.

I am talking about the segment(s) above the Accord/Sonata.. Even in my immediate neighbourhood, there are 3 mercs (E240,E220 CDI, and a W124) to one A6. People dont readily go for BMWs and Lexus' or even luxo SUVs, like they did in Mumbai, even when there were no authorized dealerships then.

Originally Posted by adya33

There was article in Times of India few months ago where it said that there are largest number of Mercedes in Kolhapur.

Yes, a surprisingly large number of imports there too! And Mercedes doesnt even have a dealer there yet, IIRC.

[rahul_intlad]

Talk Mercedes and you cannot leave out chandigarh,ludhiana.

[mithun]

Bangalore: Actually I found more no of Getz than Swift. It's the only city in India where I found more no of Getz than Swift. IT guys seems to be the die-hard fans of Hyundai !!!

Kerala: When it comes to luxury cars in Kerala, Mercs are omnipotent. And no Audi/BMW/Bentley/Rolls/Porsche will never ever provide the same snob value of Mercs. Although Lambos/Ferraris will be head-turners.

WagonR is having a very strong brand value in the rural areas and Santro in the urban areas although Kerala is the only state in India with the least rural-urban divide !!!

[benbsb29]

My observations are as follows :

Hyderabad : Left Hyderabad before the Aveos and Fiestas were released, so cant comment on those. Skodas as well as Endeavours rule the roost.
Among bikes, CBZs' were VERY common, specially in the Masab Tank, Mehdipatnam areas. Pulsars modified in every fanciable way enjoy their
share too. For your share of adrenaline rush, nothing can beat the Chetaks in signal-stop drag races.

Bangalore : Swifts and Ikons aplenty. Seen more Balenos here than what i have EVER seen in Hyderabad. Scorpios too seem to have a huge market here. Needless to say, with the IT/ITES sector here, Indicabs and Sumos are the king of the roads.

Kerala : If i ever had a doubt of the money existing among Keralites, they were washed away with my last Xmas trip. I counted almost 20 Mercs during my trip from north Kerala southwards. Fiestas too seem to have captured public imagination here. However, in Kerala no car can claim to have more sales than the humble Alto, that too 80% in the maroon shade. Jeeps are common in the hilly regions, and Scorpios run around as Taxis here. Diesel is the preferred chow-chow here anyday.

[kkr2k2]

Originally Posted by sreenivass

Skoda already in, I was mentioning more of private vehicles. indicabs and qualises are every where (all cities), are they not. I'd agree with NHCs and accents, have not seen that many fiestas and aveos.

BTW, it does not look like we have left out many cars manufactured in india.

30% of the total fiestas sold in india were repoted from AP as for as the first 3 months are concerned !!!.
i didnt mention about aveo.

[speedzak]

Bike taxis I referred earlier are proper chauffer driven. Not just renta type.

Yes, wine red Altos are a craze here.

Did I mention the latest dowry favorite for now is Fiesta and Verna?

[iraghava]

Also there is an indigenous contraption sold here in UP, Haryana, Punjab etc. which is powered by a diesel genset engine & has wooden rear bodywork & is mainly used as a passenger vehicle. Sort of a motorised bullock cart if you will.

The name is quite appropriate "Jugaad"! And they are a pain on the highways around here since their top speed is about 30kmph or so, quite a nuisance they create! Will try & post pics of it if possible.

[lamborghini]

Mumbai : Loads and loads of Japanese cars. Everytime i go to school and look out of the window, i see only corolla's, NHCs, Innovas and the occasional Ford.
There are loads of imported cars too and the number of relitively decent modded cars are the maximum in Mumbai too.

However, i think the maximum number of imported cars are in Delhi.