[rangarx]

Originally Posted by SankalpDesai

Really happy to see Fiat doing consistent numbers month-on-month. Infact, Punto dearest has clocked nearly 1300 units in May. Love it or Hate it, but you just can't ignore it.

While every company seems to be selling a lot of cars, we agree that they all leave out on something that either holds them back or brings them down. Honda lacks diesel, Tata lacks quality, Skoda lacks service, Ford lacks features, Toyota lacks design, Mitsubishi lacks the desire to sell, Maruti lacks panache, Fiat lacks the confidence to go out and tell people that their cars are as-good-as others in the market.

Go ahead Fiat. Market your cars well. No need to seek help from any 'self-proclaimed-celebrity' or lazy cricketers. We love you and we will buy your cars.

+1 to that.

Fiat has been one of the most underrated companies in India since the inception.

[//M]

Verna has had a dream run this month. Sales of over 4000 units has got the Honda City and competitors running for cover. The Vento has maintained a steady sales though.

Its disappointing to see niches like the Yeti and the Aria not doing well. Specially the Yeti sales are very low, given the car is absolutely awesome. The Kizashi with 50 units is quite surprising. No doubt the car is good but as a 20-lakh Maruti, its selling quite well.

[himanshu_2580]

Excellent number for new Verna, although some of this goes in inventory and supply chain. Plus initial euphoria could be misleading in some cases...(should not be this time around).. Would wait for couple of more months to see the real demand levels (especially after new fiesta is launched)..

Wondering what's stopping Fiat from pulling the plug from Palio??? They just can't be operating production lines to churn out 19 - 20 cars each month...Unless they plan a refresh...

Was surprised with Alto number - thought it will be more...Are we finally seeing demand destruction at lower levels due to high fuel prices and interest rates?

[aquavelva]

Wating for BMW, Audi and Mercedes figures. Even Yeti is being sold almost as much as the beasts the Endeavours, Pajeros,

Fortuner is way ahead inspite of the waiting period

[GTO]

*Update*

Final numbers for HM Ambassador updated in the opening post.

Originally Posted by GTO

HM-Mitsubishi

Pajero : 146
Outlander : 49
Cedia : 24
Montero : 1
EVO X : 1
Ambassador : 255

[mxx]

TOI had an article about the car sales going down due to higher interest rates. Hence not so good figures last month

[SR-71]

A bit off topic...

I am surprised about all this honda 'jibbar jabber'. Am surprised as to why people find it so compulsive to bash a car every time the sales report comes out. It has been said numerous times on whats wrong with Honda & GTO has written a good post on that - so why continue flogging the dead horse with one liners.

I have been follower of team-bhp for almost half a decade (though i registered very late) and i see a drastic decline in the quality of posts. What started as a real enthusiast forum is slowly turning to be a dump to meaningless 'jibber jabber' with compulsive one liners and meaningless bashing's. Mod's kindly take note of this - I know its very difficult to moderate a high strength community but enough is enough. I would like to see team-bhp continue to be an enthusiast forum discussing on automotive issues.

[mobike008]

Interesting to see a general stagnation for most manafacturers in some cases downward trend of sales in May'11. I guess the primary reason is the steep increase in petrol prices and also the impending second round increase of Rs.1.50 for petrol and Rs.4 for diesel later this month.

I beileve this trend will continue for a couple more months for jolt to sink into the customer post which the sales hopefully should take back the upwards swing.

I am happy for Hyundai that Verna is clocking amazing numbers in its first month and will continue to breathe down the neck of Vento and going by ANHC figures they may not even be in the race few months down the line unless Honda drastically cut prices across the board ( which its already doing to some extent). Civic numbers are shockingly low. Cant see such a good car with so few numbers.

In the C+ segmenters, its again a shock to see the segment leader (some months ago by virtue of 2 engine options) Corolla diving almost 50% whereas Laura has gained some momentum and is almost neck to neck with Cruze.

My dream of seeing Cruze cross the 1K still remains a dream

[vivekparmar]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Interesting to see the cruze-corolla-civic-laura numbers.
Cruze has had a big fall this month from 900+ to 600+. Civic is down and out. Corolla is down too. Once it was the leader this month its in third position. Laura has seen a rise and is knocking on cruze s door. Interesting situation now for the segment. Lets see how Fluence affects the equilibrium now in the segment.

A bit surprised by the cruze's number but again if I take a look at the complete segment (Civic , Corolla are down & out and Laura putting up a surprise) it seems it's fair.

[julupani]

The massive petrol price hike and general high sales of last year means that growth is not that high in May 11 compared to May 10. Numbers are steadily declining after a serious high in March 11.

The only segment which seems to have held on to its volumes seems to be the premium hatch segment with all the cars like the Swift/Ritz/Polo/Punto/i20/Fabia/Micra holding their numbers. Here I think because of the dominance of diesel in this segment, it wasnt really hit by the fuel prices.

And I have to commend FIAT on one thing, they seem to have found some sort of a niche market. Their numbers are surprisingly stable, and it seems no forces are able to shake the numbers of Punto and Linea buyers. Though the numbers are not high, but atleast they are stable.

On the other hand Honda is in serious troubles. Their total sales are down below 2500. Till recently just the City could notch up a good deal more than that. If they continue their downward slope, FIAT will end up outselling Honda.

Strong performance from the Verna, but how much of that is actual sales and where will the number's finally stabilise is still to be seen.

[scuderiamania]

Originally Posted by julupani

If they continue their downward slope, FIAT will end up outselling Honda.

If you check you'll find, Fiat has already outsold Honda this month!
edit: just checked. Not yet, but the way things are going, it wont take too long for that to happen.

[rao_battula]

I think roaring petrol prices may be one of the reasons FIAT T-Jet not picking up as anticipated along with general perceptions of FIAT. The price range is a problem too. Many of the guys surprised to see a FIAT crossing 10L range. One of my friends was saying "A FIAT costing almost same as Honda. Who will purchase?". Ironically he has been driving Palio 1.2 for last 5 years.

[bala80]

Im a little disappointed with VW numbers, considering the fact that the waiting period for Vento is still anywhere between 3 to 6 months. I was expecting more dealer dispatches of Vento compared to Polo (If they have a production constraint and that the advertised less waiting period for Polo), however thats not the case. Im not too sure about the strategy being adopted here, but looks like the waiting period for Vento isnt going to improve anytime soon. Good opportunity for verna and numbers just seem to reflect this!

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by bala80

If they have a production constraint and that the advertised less waiting period for Polo

Infact I saw a newspaper ad from VW that Polo will be delivered quicker. I believe I saw that in Malayala Manorama, Kerala. There was one more pointer in the same ad, but I dont remember whats that.

If VW doesnt do anything quick, they might lose some customers with the launch of NFS. I still feel that there will be customers who have been waiting for Vento who might have checked out the new Verna and thinking of changing the booking. At least Verna still has a lesser waiting period compared I guess [3 months max] .

[bala80]

Correct, the less waiting period advertisement of Polo is pretty much in every news paper across the country.

Your second paragraph talks about me! Yes, i have booked the Vento 3 months back with no sight of my car, I checked out the verna and contemplating if it would make sense to switch my booking over to the verna. Last checked in chennai, verna is available within 4 weeks time!

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Infact I saw a newspaper ad from VW that Polo will be delivered quicker. I believe I saw that in Malayala Manorama, Kerala. There was one more pointer in the same ad, but I dont remember whats that.

If VW doesnt do anything quick, they might lose some customers with the launch of NFS. I still feel that there will be customers who have been waiting for Vento who might have checked out the new Verna and thinking of changing the booking. At least Verna still has a lesser waiting period compared I guess [3 months max] .