[rangarx]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

I am not having a good feeling with the Figo settling down at 5-6K per month. It surely is a vehicle which deservers a 9-10K sales figures.

I am also in the same page mate.

But one of my friends said the sales would not improve much since Figo is underpowered with AC on on the highway and besides that, niggles have started similar to Ikon in the earlier days
Not sure how far this is true though.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by GTO

Beat : 1614
i10 : 10969
Alto : 23240
A-Star : 905

Hatchbacks with a petrol only option, have all shown a decline in numbers.
Will be interesting to see next months numbers, with the Rs.3 increase of Diesel prices and a Gov. emboldened by minimal resistance to increase of LPG by Rs.50.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by GTO

- The C segment is like the Formula 1 world championship of 2010; new race winners ever so often. The new champion of the 7 - 10 lakh rupee sedan segment is the Hyundai Verna, for the 2nd month in a row. It's lead is so far ahead that the competition (currently) isn't even close. The Verna's design & fluidic branding seem to have worked wonders. Everyone I know, including people who don't usually talk about cars, is raving about the "fluidic's" great looks. Hyundai is also covering a wide price spectrum with 4 engines options.

- Say hello to the best selling sedan in the Indian market today; the Toyota Etios. Sure, it's no.1 position is due to the Dzire suffering a production setback, yet the 5,000 / month tally is simply outstanding. Don't forget that it doesn't even have a diesel engine on offer yet. I'm a huge fan of the Etios' torquey 1.5L engine, space, ride & handling and am happy to see the budget sedan where it is today.

IMO, Hyundai ANHV excellent performance might be temporary, & it may soon settle to 65-75% of this month's figures.

This will also be the result of the Etios diesel that is expected to be launched at the year end (AutoExpo'12), which I believe will actually settle around Dzire numbers at that time.

Originally Posted by GTO

- It's amazing what a price cut and the resultant VFM can do to your product offering. The Honda City is back in the business, and overtakes the Vento again. Question is : Can it sustain this performance? With only a petrol engine? Honda should now realise that the Jazz, Civic & Accord also need price corrections, if their dismal market performance is anything to go by. Swallow the bitter pill, Honda, and move on.

Their other products are still overpriced, & with the superiority quality bubble burst (courtesy Mar-11 recalls in India), many customers are treating the Europeans in far better, due to which they are suffering.
As far as I know, Honda cars are the best at extracting performance from whatever BHP they generate (the NHC, non-VTec, could easily hold its own against a Baleno in its times), & the interior quality is also far better than the biggest carmaker in India.

As I have already posted in another Honda thread, it is time for Honda not to waste time & offer CNG Jazzs, Citys & Civics till they have the guts to introduce the Diesel in India.

(I still wonder how could Toyota evade such an overpriced & poor image despite recalls in US.)

Originally Posted by GTO

- Hyundai's hatchbacks also bring in strong performances, and contribute to the company gaining marketshare in July 2011 (where most others have lost). Right from the cheap, yet competent, Santro to the premium i20, the sales performance is superb. The Sonata remains a dud though, and the Santa Fe - while no competition to the Fortuner - manages about as much as the Pajero & gang.

I tell you short story:
My '03 Santro has CNG installed recently, & in fine day I was in the line of a CNG station & in another line was a WagonR (the penultimate model, in any case it was more than 5 years old). We both were on the other sides of the pump & at the time of refuelling, you have to come out of the car. We (me & my wife) came out of the car, & my wife slammed the door, I did not care for anything. But, as soon the guy in WagonR closed the door, my attention was drawn towards drawn towards the rattle from the door+window panel of the car. I guess this - Better Interiors, is the reason why Hyundai have been able to hold on the ground despite viral comments by many (including TBHP-ians) that Hyundai cars do not give good mileage.

By the way I get 14-15 in NCR & 17-21 on highways (with mixed AC use). I bet if one does not rev the Hyundai engine but changes gears at prescribed ratios one can easily get better mileage figures from i10-i20 engines.

Originally Posted by GTO

- Mixed bag of results at Tata headquarters. While the Nano's 5,500 sales are nothing to scoff at, it's still a sub-par performance for what is the cheapest car in India. Tata is unable to give the Nano the marketing & distribution brilliance that Maruti gives the Alto. On the other hand, the Indica sisters (Indica + Vista) post a very strong month crossing the 8,000 mark. The Indigo + Manza aren't performing up to expectation; the cut-price Indigo CS should bring in greater volumes, while the hugely competent Manza alone deserves to sell 5,000 copies a month. The market seems to have some renewed interest in the Aria.

- Nano's number are surprising. Guess the initial & Gujarati fires have doused the chances of Nano setting the sales charts on fire.
- Indica + Vista good numbers number might be temporary. They need to haul up the QC & the Service Centres & then compete with contemporaries.
I bet Liva would make life miserable for the Indica + Vista, which is similar to what has happened in case of Indigo + Manza vrs Etios.
- Indigo + Manza - The niggling problems are not the only factors that drive away customers. Recently my close friend went to book a Manza & was aghast at the limited colour option & the whacky colour options on all the sedans. He is looking for another sedan. There are many colours missing from Manza's option, like- Black, (shades of) Blue, Grey, etc. IMO these are popular colours.
Then one has to consider the Etios effect.
- Safari + Sumo - These are performing well but, again the quality (viewed over overall ownership experience) has to improve. Even I have persuaded mu brother to ignore Safari & consider either Innova or Scorpio, when we buy one.
- Aria - The initial responses from forum member is good enough for me (refer Ajay, the common middle class buyer).

Originally Posted by GTO

- Figo seems to be settling down to a 5,000 odd monthly tally. Good for Ford, but considering its VFM price & diesel engine, the Figo should have been garnering consistent 6,500 - 7,000 sales. Ford needs to aggressively push the hatchback in the hugely competitive B segment.

With small niggles & incompetent engines vis-a-vis good handling, playing in the mind of buyers. I think these numbers will fall further by few hundreds again because of Liva.

Originally Posted by GTO

- I find the Yeti's market performance very peculiar; it's amongst the best urban SUVs on sale in India, extremely well-engineered, versatile, packed to the gill with high quality parts and is easy to drive. Still, the Indian buyer doesn't seem to have taken to its small dimensions (for the price) & presence (we all need our SUVs to be brash & imposing, perhaps??).

small dimension & INR 15 Lacs (higher as per my opinion) have affected in its case.

PS: I have already commented on Maruti-Suzuki's performance in another thread, so won't like to add more except the case of Kizashi, which is overpriced for Maruti-Suzuki's brand in India & elsewhere. I do not see it setting records straight for Suzuki anywhere in the world.

Sorry for the long post.

[fuel_addict]

Thanks GTO for the compilation. One of the most awaited threads at the start of the month.

Great month indeed for Toyota with the Etios selling like hot cakes. The strike at Maruti could be partially attributed to this "success" with D-Zire losing some ground.

Honda City has survived another month. In fact beating Vento is commendable. Hopefully, Honda takes a cue from this and slashes Jazz/Civic/Accord prices. Civic's 175 units is dismal for a car of that calibre. What a waste!

The facelifted Altis was launched just few weeks ago. I think we should expect some improvement in sales by next month. June sales would not really reflect the success or failure of the facelifted version. Having said that, commendable show by Cruze and Laura.

Happy to see the new Verna doing well. Hyundai deserves applause for launching 4 engine variants & giving options to buyers. Can't remember any other manufacturer doing this in the C segment.

[anandjha]

Interesting figures. Thanks GTO. One thing I fail to understand. When the waiting for Diesel from both Vs, Verna and Vento is around 6 months, why are their monthly figures so different?

One more thing. We should not all hurry up in writing an epitaph for City. Remember, it's Petrol engine option is giving tough fight to P & D combined options.

BTW why is SX4 figure so meagre? Could it be the strike effect? Well, I don't think so. See SX4 and then see Vento and Verna, they are simply class apart. Maruti should do something about it. It should not sell a premium sedan with economy model looks and engine. Definitely the customers of SX4 are practical persons and thinking from their perspective Dzire makes for a better sense that SX4.

[singhupinder]

Thank you GTO for the sales figures. Finally, the Honda City is back in action. Lets hope that Honda brings the prices down on its other models too. The Verna deserves to sell higher than the Vento as it offers a much better package. VW shouldn't have skimped on the features in the first place.

I am surprised at the numbers the Aria and Verito have managed. I have hardly seen a couple of them on Delhi roads.

Its high time Ford launches the new fiesta. The fiesta classic seems to be taking quite a beating from the competition.

Kudos to Toyota for managing such high numbers for the fortuner and etios.

[figo_mba]

Why is Linea sales so low ? Just 350vehicles ? And Is fiat still selling Palio ? Every month they seem to put a single digit number but the dealers here have cancelled all bookings and given the booking amounts back.

Figo is stagnating at 5.6K but is that what is expected ? 100K vehicles on the road; I guess Ford is happy with these numbers.
Endeavor sold 248units more. Any reason ?

Honda sells more City in June; Thanks to the reckless discount they are offering.
Verna sales are a little down I think People are waiting for the New Ford Fiesta.

Verito improving in the hands of Mahindra. Good Show. Keep it up.

Is Alto losing base ? The number are lower from the above 30K number in the previous months ?

dzire, SX4, Swift numbers low because of the Strike and shutdown. Feels bad that a market leader is at the mercy of unions and politically instigated shutdown and troubles.

i guess ev2 magic is showing and indica sales have jumped.

[sahakar]

Wow quite a slowdown. Let's see how the car companies react now. More discounts needed. Already banks have increased their rates by another 25 basis points over June.

Cheers

[vinya_jag]

Originally Posted by GTO

Beat : 1614
Estilo : 1532
A-Star : 905

In India space sells, be it real estate or cars.
And the lack of it is a big No. Just ask the three cars here. Great cars all of them, BUT!

[Turbanator]

4x2 ARIA's have been already been billed to TML dealers in June despatch.

I have seen lot of Arias with Airline crews inside Delhi & Mumbai Airport - don't know if these are 4 X 4 or the 4 X 2 maybe they have passed some good deal to fleet buyers .

[aaren]

Thanks GTO for the data. While the number of Etios is really strong, the Liva numbers is amazing - 737 within few days of launch !! Next few months will show where it really stands. But the increases in prices and interest rates are hurting everyone. Not sure what is happening to the Polo and Vento. Honda's numbers are showing a come back - however, they are also reverting back to normal production levels after the unfortunsate Tsunami and EQ in Japan. Verito's numbers are increasing - but I believe the numbers can go up if more brand building is done. Santro is going strong !!

[MaserQ]

Originally Posted by arjab

4x2 ARIA's have been already been billed to TML dealers in June despatch. My source has billed 5 vehicles. He has a TML dealership. Launch will be in July.

This is the version they ought to have launched in the first place. A cheaper 4x2 Aria, is a capable match for the Innova but why is Tata keeping quiet about it? They need to be telling everyone and their uncles about it.

The Alto has done 178,XXX units vs 45,XXX units of the Nano to date this year. The initial hullabaloo over the Tata Nano has now died down. Tata desperately needs a high impact marketing strategy till the Nano diesel arrives.

Originally Posted by GTO

Lancer + Cedia : 7

Absolute disgrace. The Lancer was once a class leading car. Neither partner in that venture seem remotely interested in selling cars.

[Saanil]

I am surprised to see this month’s figures. Following are my few observations:


1. Interest rates and petrol prices are eating the automobile market. I think this is going to happen in the coming months too. Now that even diesel prices are hiked things are not looking good.

2. Maruti not leading the charts is strange. Drop in Alto is steep. Omni and Eeco though faced a drop, are still going strong in my opinion. Tata Venture not harming them for now.

3. Beat has taken solid beating this month. From the constant 3k’s it was doing it has dropped to 1.6k. I think people are waiting for the diesel to be launched. It is business as usual for Spark. People still buying Aveo and UVA.

4. FIAT numbers are scary. Linea is getting tough competition from other companies in this segment. Verna has made things worse for everyone. City managed to get number 2 spot ahead of Vento. Sx4 taking massive beating in spite of having a diesel engine. I think it is because of the Verna.

5. Great numbers for Hyundai. I think Hyundai is the biggest threat to Maruti.

[mkh]

Originally Posted by anandjha

One more thing. We should not all hurry up in writing an epitaph for City. Remember, it's Petrol engine option is giving tough fight to P & D combined options.

Very rightly put. A few months back when Vento was launched, the honda haters wrote things like "bye bye ANHC", "city is dead" etc! Amusing how people can go overboard with a brand hatred! Clearly a large manufacturer is not going to take it sitting down when the competition hots up on their bread and butter product. With ONLY petrol sales if ANHC sells more than a Vento or even sells 10% lower, i think its a huge win! I cannot even imagine what would the scene look like if they really come up with a diesel that is all things apart- like to like even an equal performer! That would simply wipe the rest off save for Verna and maybe Fiesta.
That said, even with Verna launching, city sales went up! I guess ALL cities where Honda exists, Hyundai does too, maybe VW does not so one can say that the buyer at many places has no option to choose Vento
I feel its going to be a 3 way fight in the diesel segment: Verna Vs Fiesta(new) Vs SX4 primarily with the Vento losing steam and Linea obliterated. This is assuming the Fiesta diesel comes out as good as it was till now and the Honda diesel is not out soon( which its not most likely)
The ANHC will sell the max in petrol but overall sales maybe will continue to be 2500 odd

Well the japs rock- Toyota upstages the mighty dezire! Looks like a new champ is going to rule the charts in this segment for a while!

[Equus]

Thanks GTO!

These numbers clearly demonstrate what works in India!!

Did Renault sell anything at all?

OMG - A-star sales below thousand. What a DOG has this turned out to be for MSIL.
Its older gen (for those who didnt know: A-star is next gen alto, and is actually Alto-star) is clocking 25K, and this cant do 1K.. Even with an auto option! The cheapest automatic in India, excluding reva. Its become a liability. I dont think price cuts will help as the discounts are reasonably steep. It needs to be killed or revamped.

Any news on when the sub-4m Dzire will be launched? Is it going to be alongside the new Swift launch by any chance? The smaller version can give Dzire a major boost when Etios diesel comes out.. Hope they are lined up for same-day-release