September 2009 Indian Car Sales Figures & Analysis

[sidindica]

From Tata Motors media site

Passenger Vehicles

The passenger vehicles business reported a total sale and distribution offtake of 20,743 nos. (18,176 Tata + 2,567 Fiat) in the domestic market in September 2009, a 23% increase compared to 16,829 nos. (16,586 Tata + 243 Fiat) in September last year.

Sales of Tata cars, at 15,802 nos., grew by 19% over September 2008.

• The sales of the Tata Nano were 2,524 nos.
• The Indica range sales were 9,858 nos., a growth of 15% over September last year.
• The Indigo range recorded sales of 3,420 nos., lower by 27% over September last year.
• The Sumo/Safari range accounted for sales of 2,374 nos., lower by 28.5% over September last year.

The Land Rover Freelander 2 was launched during the month, augmenting the Land Rover range in India.

Cumulative sales and distribution offtake of passenger vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal were 111,461 nos. (98,568 Tata + 12,893 Fiat), against 100,336 nos. (97,929 Tata + 2,407 Fiat) last year, a growth of 11%.

• Cumulative sales of the Nano were 7,500 nos.
• Cumulative sales of the Indica range at 56,868 nos., reported a growth of 15%.
• Cumulative sales of the Indigo family were 18,498 nos., lower by 31%.
• Cumulative sales of the Sumo/Safari range were 15,702 nos., lower by 27.5%.

[akj53]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Skoda sales: 1854

superb: 257
octavia+laura: 684
fabia:913 (discount effect?)

Comparison From August:

Superb is down by 19 cars from 276 cars. Should have been 300+ due to Sept. effect.
Octy + Laura has improved from 627 to 684
Fabia has leaped to 913 from 560

If only Skoda will learn to provide ethical, efficient and cost effective service, this brand will go places.

Indians have bought more Fabia's than Jazz (913 vs 504) despite the fact that Fabia has a high maintenance, low resale image vs. Jazz which has the reverse image. This proves that Indians place more emphasis on initial price rather than just a brand name and Jazz is seen as a vastly over priced product. Honda should take note.

[burnt.]

This 'big' sale is due to companies pushing stocks to dealers anticipating big sales for diwali.

The real big sale if it happens has to happen in the month of october. If for October, companies report below avg sales, it means most of these cars are pending with the dealers.

[neotraveller]

Fiat: 2567 ..... 1000 Linea & 1500/1600 Punto
Same figures month-over-month, this is the final story then.

I think it's more or less decided now ... if it's a Fiat, most people prefer to stay away.

[oops]

Originally Posted by pmbabu

Honda, Sep '09:
City: 4281; Jazz: 504; Civic: 695; CR-V: 1; Accord: 313

I heard some people saying " City is overPriced. City's sales will come down".

[oops]

M800 - 3207
Nano - 2567
Logan - 510
Spark - 4706
Aveo U-Va - 753
Aveo - 424
Optra - 319
Tavera - 1329
Captiva - 123
Indica (incl. Marina etc.)- 9858
Indigo - 3420

[oss]

Fiesta+Ikon: ~3300 cars

[akj53]

Originally Posted by oops

I heard some people saying " City is overPriced. City's sales will come down".

Sorry to write this, but fact remais that City is ruling only due to the absence of truly competitive products. Let any worthy competitor come and scenerio will change as has changed in the case of all other Honda products.

[Aarman_008]

Hyundai sold 49,482 units in A2 segment of Santro, i10, i20, Getz. Will be interesting to know the split up sales of each cars.

[tj123]

Originally Posted by pmbabu

To hell with the impression that City is overpriced. But Jazz?

Check the sales figures below for Honda, Sep '09:
City: 4281; Jazz: 504; Civic: 695; CR-V: 1; Accord: 313

Source:
Honda press release

Jazz sales 504 I am quite happy to see that.

I was anticipating low sales for such a overpriced car. Jazz is a brilliant product and is best in class in its segment but it is grossly overpriced by atleast 1 to 1.25 lacs..

Honda take note of Indian customers pulse , realize the fact that Jazz is a hatch and people are not ready to spend there bucks on a hatch for which they can buy a sedan. Regardless of the fact how good your product is.

Honda has to rethink on its pricing strategy if they want to gain a pie of the hatch segment

[GTO]

With Diwali just around the corner, the car market is buzzing with activity, enjoying the warmth of the "festival of lights". Total passenger car sales topped out at 1.69 lakh cars, more than even March '09 (1.67 lakhs) and a substantial 20.xx% increases YOY (September 2008 = 1.4 lakhs). Car penetration in India is amongst the lowest in the world, the market yet has huge potential to grow in the years to come.

The domination of the A+ & B segments (hatchbacks) continues with a total of 1.22 L sales, In fact, the entire A + B segment hatchbacks account for over 75% of all passenger vehicles sold in India. It's pretty evident why Toyota / Daihatsu, VW, Nissan, Ford etc. have hatchbacks in the pipeline. Ask any of them for product plans and you'll hear a confident "coming soon". To beat Maruti on value, cost of production, distribution and quality of aftersales provide the toughest challenges.

Market share & segment specific numbers will be shared by Vasudeva once he has the relevant data available. We will edit this post itself to include the additional information. Special thanks to Vasudeva for his continued support, and to Kaspurv for sharing detailed sales statistics with Team-BHP.

Abbreviations used : MOM (Month on Month) and YOY (Year on Year)

[GTO]

Hatchbacks:

• The two sole players in the A segment are the erstwhile Maruti 800 and the attention grabbing Tata Nano. Fact is, no one can make these cars cheaper than their respective manufactures do, anywhere in the world, and no one expects new entrants in this entry-price segment for a long time to come. The Duo / LPG variant has obviously provided "fuel" to the Maruti 800's cause, taking the monthly tally up to 3,207 cars sold (up from 2,734 last month and slightly lower YOY). The Tata Nano continues at its 2,500 monthly production limit (2,524 cars sold). As noted earlier, the Nano's sales are restricted ONLY by production constraints. The factory move from West Bengal to Gujarat at the 11th hour have cost Tata (and West Bengal) dearly. Expect the Nano to grow multifold (10X?) once production stabilises.

• The humble li'l Maruti Alto continues its run as the best selling car in India with a whopping 20,045 cars sold. Basically, 1 out of every 8 passenger vehicles sold in India is the Alto today. It's a surprisingly competent hatch for the price; the market seems to agree. Only the Nano has the potential to challenge the Alto for top spot, but we'll have to wait a while to see that happen.

• If ever there was an attestation of "value" being prioritised over "price", the i10 is it. Despite costing more than its older sibling, the Santro, the i10 sells more by quite a margin (12,733 i10s versus 7,749). I have continually insisted that the Indian customer will pay "more for more" as long as the differential value adds up substantially. The i10 and Santro are expected to hover around the 17 - 20K monthly mark until Hyundai brings a 3 cylinder diesel for either / both of them ("coming soon" ).

• The second best selling hatch in India, and for Maruti, is the practical Wagon R. Nearly 11,000 new homes found (10,882 to be precise). I find it ironical that the mechanically identical sibling - the Estilo - manages only about 25% of the WagonRs numbers in September (about 1/5th average for the year so far). Heck, these two have been mechanically identical, save for the recent K series engine transplant in the Estilo which is supposed to be even more fuel efficient. A case study in the extreme effects of marketing & positioning, if ever there was one.

• The Indica sisters - Old + new Vista - have registered a 15% YOY growth for a total of 9,858 cars. Space, diesel and VFM are the buzz words here. Though, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Vista would have performed far better if Tata had kept the Indica baggage / brand away from it.

• The Swift and the Ritz continue their lead in the 4.5 lakhs segment with 9,663 and 6,280 respective cars sold. We love the Swift, and how! It even outsells the Ritz which is a more modern car and has a far superior petrol engine! Question : How much does the Swift's eye catching design have to do with this?

• The next two players, in order of sales performance, are both Koreans. You will be surprised at the second. The cute li'l Chevy Spark sells an impressive-for-GM 4,687 hatchbacks. GM's reputation and recent bankruptcy can take a hike. Thumbs up to GM India's PR in managing the bad news. The other surprising entry? Why, its the expensive, but loaded to the sills, Hyundai i20. Get this, best performance so far this year with 4,152 cars sold in September! Unbelievable, and yet another classic example of the "more is more" value phenomenon. The diesel + automatic variants have only taken the i20 game ahead. Expect every 6 lakh hatchback manufacturer (present + future) to benchmark with the i20.

• Last place amongst Maruti hatchbacks? Yup, its the A-star with 1,791 cars sold. Not surprising considering its cramped confines (new gen Alto after all) but Maruti isn't complaining too much. Their European exports are more than keeping the A-Star production line busy.

• The Fiat Punto comes in next with 1,502 customers taking them home. Compared to the 1700 - 1800 sales tally of July and August, the Punto has slid at a time when the overall market & segment has grown. I'd expect the GP to settle down to 1300 cars eventually, in consideration of the fact that its only 4 months since launch (new product buildup). More than the actual car, its Fiats reputation at play here. They are trying hard, and on the right track, but clearly an uphill task ahead. The Linea may be a cheap sedan, but the Punto is a premium hatch. I'm certain the interior fit & finish has put off more than just a handful of prospects.

• Look who's firing on all three cylinders? The Fabia! 913 cars sold in September. The highest this year (averaged about 350 cars a month in 2009). Skoda's cut-price variants playing their part here? I'm surprised to see the Chevy UVA managing even 744 cars.

• Honda must be shocked to see its Jazz tumble down to a mere 500 cars. They had estimated a run of 2,000 cars per month. Except for the launch month of June, every other month has been half or lower than that. In only the 4th month since introduction, mind you! Why, Honda, why could you not price this otherwise brilliant hatch more realistically? On the positive side, this ought to stop any other car makers from ridiculously pricing hatchbacks. Lesson learnt!!

• Non-movers of the month (actually, year) : Getz (364), Fusion (83) and the nearly defunct Palio (10). The CBU Fiat 500 has found two homes in September.

[GTO]

Sedans:

• The Indian C segment "desires" only the Maruti Dzire. The Dzire is one of the rare Indian cars to have a 3 - 6 month waiting list today, we've gone ballistic with the idea of a Maruti diesel VFM sedan! Check Maruti's stock price lately?

• Second up is the all-rounded Honda City with 4,281 cars sold in September. The Jazz cannibalisation is coming to an end, and the facelift has brought in new customers too. Again, the value equation + all-roundedness at play here (rather than price alone). The cheaper previous gen NHC also didn't manage to cross 4,000 except in a month or two (The ANHC has done so 4 times this year).

• The trusty Indigo, even with the new Vista sedan around the corner, has sold 3,352 cars. While MOM is up (August = 2604), YOY is hit by about 30%. Tata needs to work hard on the Vista sedan's positioning if it wants a bigger share of the C segment pie.

• Do special editions and heavily corrected prices work? Oh, you bet. Just ask Mr. Ford Fiesta. He'll tell you some, especially after managing to find 2,081 homes in September! The Ikon sold about a 1000 units last month, and both together have nearly doubled Fords C Segment assault (Sept 2009 = 3101, September 2008 = 1,771). Good job, Ford. Just price the crucial Figo correctly from the start itself (instead of discounting later).

• The lacklustre Verna sold 1,624 units followed Hyundai's Accent at 1,128 cars. Note, the Fiesta outsold the Verna, but the fight between the Accent & Ikon continues 10 years after launch! The Ikon even has a diesel, yet can't beat the Accent. The Verna (and Accent), I believe, are benefitting from Hyundais brand + distribution big time.

• The Fiat Linea comes back to the 4 figure mark (1,053 cars), marginally up from the 800 - 900 cars she seemed to have settled at. Respectable for a company that came out of nowhere. Still, not a patch on the real potential of this car, more so in the brilliant diesel guise.

• For whoever thought that the 60 year old Ambassador is dead, think again. HM sold 684 cars in September. Imagine the profit margins from the proceeds of such a vintage car.

• Non-movers start now : First is the Logan with a mere 510 units. The Times carried a report today that the Mahindra-Renault JV is in serious trouble, and both are evaluating options / exit. It's easy to see why, their predictions were 50,000 cars annually. Price it realistically next time, guys! The Maruti SX4 comes next at 433 (production halted for new engine, yearly average is 1,100 cars), the Aveo with 412 sold, long-in-the-tooth Optra for 319 cars and a disappointingly low Mitsubishi Cedia & Lancer (39 / 26 respectively). The well-marketing great driving challenge has done zilch for the Cedia. Get this, HM sells exactly 20 times more Amby's than Cedias!

C+ Segment:

• It's the Toyota Altis coming out on top again with 905 cars sold, followed by the face-lift boosted Honda Civic @ 695 cars sold in September 2009. Expect the Civic to settle at lower numbers once the facelift euphoria is over.

• Skoda is unable to fully capitalise on its diesel USP (something that's ending with the quick Chevy Cruze' entry next week). 514 Lauras (highly respectable number) and 170 Octavias (another long in the tooth product).

• With its limited distribution network, and late entry, VW still managed to move 221 Jettas. Decent performance there.

• Elantra production stopped.

[GTO]

SUVs:

• The Mahindra Scorpio has had a superb run in September with 3,600 new buyers. Chief competitor Tata Safari closed the month at 850, less than 1/4th the performance of the Scorpio.

• The next best seller is one that costs 2.5 times as much : The Toyota Fortuner. 676 sold, 7000 booked. How Toyota must be wishing that it had maintained a larger inventory at the time of launch. But then, retrospect is always the genius, right?

• The facelift Endeavour comes in right after with 221 sold. Expect the Endeavour to settle down to 150 mark (slightly lower than its average so far).

• Chevy Captiva = 123. Mitsubishi Pajero = 100. Note, neither the Captiva, nor the Pajero seem to be majorly hit by the Fortuner effect just yet. It's probably the long wait periods for the Toyota. Or previously booked / decided orders. In the longer run (6 - 12 months), the effect will be more severe.

• The CBU (and all-rounded) Nissan X-Trail sold 36 units, nearly up there with the Mitsubishi Outlander at 36 (petrol only disadvantage).

• Non-movers : Grand Vitara = 9 (market telling 2.4 petrol to go to hell), Honda CRV = 1 and Hyundai Tucson = 1.

Luxury SUVs:

• Who's the big Daddy? Yup, you guessed it. The Bollywood Favourite = Audi Q7. It sold a whopping 63 SUVs! To put that in perspective, its sales are as much as the half-price A4 and more than the A6! Maybe giving out free samples to the Bachchans and Khans of the film industry is worth it to future luxo-SUV sellers.

• No other European SUV has anything to write home about. BMW X6 (22), Audi Q5 (10 and surprising, lower price than Q7!), BMW X5 (8) and BMW X3 (6). Volvo (not the truck, its the XC-90) = 3. Merc M Class is conspicuous by its absence.

• Jap luxury SUVs : The indestructible Landcruiser (18), followed by lousy performances: Prado = 3, Montero = 2. Notice how 20 lakh luxury sedan buyers will cross-shop with SUVs (Accord, Superb, Fortuner etc.), yet all CEOs / top honchos prefer their S Class' / 7 series to the equivalently priced Landcruiser.

[GTO]

Utility Vehicles:

• The Mahindra Bolero sold an outstanding 8000 units in September (yearly average so far = 5,200). If anyone knows how to sell basic, robust and diesel UVs, its Mahindra. Massive contribution to the bottom line.

• One of the cheapest petrols in the country, the Maruti Omni, had a monthly tally of 8231! Can't beat the maximum sq. ft. for the rupee in the country. And one can customise the Omni into pretty much anything these days (Ambulance, Courier delivery van, goods carrier etc.). Compare that to the Versa, a market dud, with only 66 sold.

• It's a fight between the Toyota Innova and the Mahindra Xylo. Despite being priced about 2 lakhs more, the Innova outsells the Xylo 2:1 (4123 vs 2140). Toyota's reputation and Jap quality have found many semi-urban and rural fans too. You can actually draw a lot of parallels between the Honda Citys and the Toyota Innovas success. Both have cheaper, better equipped competition, yet the market prefers Jap all-roundedness and hassle free ownership. The Sumo trundles along at 1,498 units followed by the Chevy Tavera at 1329.

• Mahindra pickups + Jeeps are next with a monthly score of 7671. Again, its basic, robust + diesel at play here. Imagine the profit margins on these pickups which are derived from none other than the world war II CJ3B! Mahindra controls the UV segment in the same way that Maruti does to hatchbacks.

• Mahindra Commander slots in right after with 430 sold. Followed by the only real 4x4 for 6 lakhs, the Maruti Gypsy (217). Army orders must account for 60% of these, followed by offroaders, mine / coffee plantation owners etc.

• Tata's smart looking, but super expensive pickup, the Xenon closed 26 deliveries.