Spark dethrone Xing? (April 2007 launch)

[Aloking]

the CHEVY SPARK will dethrone the xing but it may take some time. it will be a very successful car as it is now under THE CHEVY brand and even the old matiz did well

[aadix]

yes
remeber matiz always used to out sell santro, in its hey days
will repeat the story

[v12]

Definitely. And its comin with a 1L engine now. And its also gonna be called Chevy.

[GTO]

No ways is the spark going to exceed the Xings sales figures. Heres why:

1. Hyundai has continually evolved the santro, and the 2004 Santro is leagues ahead of what was launched initially...both in looks, power and quality. But the Spark is essentially the same Matiz. The only difference being the engine and the badge.

2. Amazing after-sales service, readily available and affordable parts and a great distribution network have only improved the Santro ownership. Some benefits come only with consistent volumes over a longer period, and the Spark still has to come around.

3. GM can badge a Daewoo as an Optra and sell it in India. I am sure half the owners didnt know the korean origins. Buttttttttttttttt the Spark looks identical to the Matiz. Its also going to be manufactured in the same plant!! Whatever Chevy may call it, the common man will most probably view it as a Matiz.

GTO

[Aditya]

GTO's reasons are spot on. I have no doubt that the Spark will a very cabable little car, but, the death of Daewoo has built an atmosphere of uncertainty around the Matiz. GM will have a very tough time convincing people to think differently. The Santro on the other hand, has never looked back since the time it was launched.
Apart from these reasons, according to me, the biggest problem all hatchbacks are going to face soon is the Hyundai Getz. If priced right, this car will kill everything except probably the Maruti 800.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ] the biggest problem all hatchbacks are going to face soon is the Hyundai Getz. If priced right, this car will kill everything except probably the Maruti 800.

I honestly doubt this. The Getz is expected to be priced at apprx 5 lacs, and that puts it beyond the realm of most B segment car buyers looking at a 3 - 4 lac price tag. Also with all that weight and european build, I doubt the petrol version will please our "average kya hai" majority.

The CRDi version is the one I am looking forward to though.

GTO

[dipen]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (v12 @ May 15 2004,23:15)]And its comin with a 1L engine now.

I think its gonna have a 1.1 liter engine with somewhere close to 65--69 horses on tap.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (GTO @ May 16 2004,04:50)]GM can badge a Daewoo as an Optra and sell it in India. I am sure half the owners didnt know the korean origins.

Hey GTO.
That's wrong. People here, by and large do know that it's a Daewoo. What they're are expecting is a proper support from GM. Hope it's looked after.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]I honestly doubt this. The Getz is expected to be priced at apprx 5 lacs, and that puts it beyond the realm of most B segment car buyers looking at a 3 - 4 lac price tag.

Car makers have aggressivley slashed midsize car prices and *We have 3 midsize sedans available under Rs. 5 Lac now : Indigo, Esteem & Petra (including the soon to be launched Petra-Diesel )

Another fact is the Indian car buyer usually looks upon all hatches as 'small' cars . which is why Honda chose to launch the City over the Jazz

Given this Hyundai will have to either price the Getz more aggressively ( < 4.5 *lacs) or drive home a real value proposition in favour of *the Getz.

-Beetle

[normally_crazy]

hey im with gto on this .

launching the spark now will make no difference to the xing.....the main basic reason being hyundai's A.s.s and the fact that if the spark comes with the same face, people mite just tend to think that this was the car that went out as the company shut down..so will it happen again?? *

cheers

[navin]

the matiz was one cute car. i know my mom and wife both bought one. however seems like GM has missed the bus. In fact they seemed to be makig a hash of most of their lauches (look at forrester sales for examples).

1. poor marketing - they dont know their customer
2. poorer service (parts prices and availabilty included)
3. poor dealership support

GM has never had a cohesive strategy for india. they did introduce some very nice cars (Astra, Forrester and Matiz). Unlike Ford or Fiat (which seems to have reinvented the palio) they seem bereft of ideas.

[Revvmaster]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]GM has never had a cohesive strategy for india. they did introduce some very nice cars (Astra, Forrester and Matiz).

Hey Navin, i suppose u meant Astra, Forrester and Vectra (not Matiz), rite.

Revv

[adya33]

OK here it goes,
Talking in 2006 yes the Spark will upset Xing sale for sure. (and also a lot of maruti sales too)

Daewoo Matiz was leagues ahead than anything at that time. Its interiors are much better than anyone. After driving both cars back to back, Matiz feels more alive & is surely spacious yet small from outside at the same time.
The 800cc Engine is very fuel efficient and was peppy. Now 1L engine can surely help it in terms of power, specially with AC on.
The only downside I could think is that of gear shift. I assume that GM must have worked on that but if not it needs work & badly.

Now coming to GM customer support, it has improved a lot since the last post in this thread was made.
As for people knowing Spark being original Daewoo product, it won't make difference as people are already buying Hyundai so they don't have any problem with Korean products.

[BUSA]

The Spark will upset the whole segment. I have heard people who dont mind buying a Matiz even today but the only problem being after sales. 90% of Optra buyers know its a Daewoo but the car is soooooo good they dont care about the origin.

I am soo sure with GM here there are few chances that people will doubt the service qualities of a manufacture which is No.1 in the world.

[Steeroid]

While its good to have one more contender in a space cornered by Maruti and Hyundai (yes, both of them - why are people so eager for the demise of a Hyundai product, I wonder - the title makes it looks like they're the only ones that will be burnt by the Spark), the fact remains that the Indian market remembers it as a product that (1) didnt do very well & (2) disappeared leaving many in the lurch.

Its difficult to eraze bad memories, and not many people would really know about the difference that the change in management is going to make. They will just say - oh somebody has brought that old Matiz back.

That will be the single biggest challenge. The second challenge would be keeping service levels to those of the established two. Remember that GM has never had a VOLUME vehicle in the market - service is a walk in the park with the few vehicles that they sell, and I'd really like to see how they measure up to the deluge of small cars that will hit their service centres once they launch a successful A segment car.

We've seen the rush at Maruti, Hyundai and Tata workshops. IMHO sustaining a volume car is VERY MUCH a factor of how well you can support those volumes. Its not as simple as sending out a car thats got all the right specs on paper. You need to make sure parts are availble and service turnaround times are quick - these cars are the ONLY mode of transport for most people so its critical that the car stays reliable and is serviced quickly so that there's minimum downtime.

If you've seen the erstwhile Daewoo service centres and compared them to Maruti or Hyundai, you'll get a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about.

The small car buyer is extremely finicky about service levels and service costs. Most of them are first time car buyers and it takes a whole different set of skills to manage their expectations well. That is where the whole game is - winning the trust of the masses.

Can GM do that? They dont come with a heritage of doing so, but if they do then the customer will have one more choice.