[oss]

While the 2 week strike at Maruti plant no doubts impacted the numbers, is there an 'Etios' factor behind the steep drop in 'Dezire' numbers !

It has fallen far steeper than the rest of the models, unless all/most of the assembly lines were doing only Dezire at that time.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by vishygk

Lets see how long the honeymoon lasts for the Verna.., one good thing is they have covered a lot of pricing territory with the engine options.

I guess Verna will hold on to 4K odd numbers for the next 5 months at least because of the waiting period. I am doubtful that the Fiesta launch can take away a lot of customers from the Verna [who are in the waiting list].

And I wanted to see a full blown SX4 number. I guess the current number was due to the strike in the plant. I read that this plant where the strike was going on was producing Swift / Dzire & SX4. And surprising that Swift managed almost the same sales while Dzire was down by 80% of usual numbers and SX4 down by almost 50%.

Now, can I guess that they prioritized Swift numbers not to lose ground to Liva ?

I am amazed at the Etios numbers for a petrol ! Its selling more than the Dzire petrol [assuming 70% of the Dzire sales is diesel variant]! Now thats an achievement and hope they continue even after the waiting period eases out. Cant really wait for the diesel launches of Etios & Liva.

[cingsman]

Good to see Indica + Vista managing a healthy number. Glad to see i20 give in another steady performance (considering its what I bought), sad to see Fiat twiddle its thumbs on nothing in particular, Maruti as always outselling the others by a couple of miles.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Equus

Any news on when the sub-4m Dzire will be launched?

What exactly is 'sub-4m'?

[W.A.G.7]

Beat : 1614

The Beat may be a modern hatch, but I feel prospective customers are taken aback by the radical looks. On paper it may be good, but I think it does not 'appeal' to the buyers. That's why the low numbers.

Linea : 350
Punto : 1150

Fiat indeed needs to do some serious thinking here. Is it not possible to bring in another diesel/petrol engine and some new models? Also is it so difficult to set up shop alone in India? Why do they need the help of someone to sell their vehicles?

City : 2802

The City may have bounced back due to the price cut, but I think, this much price cut is not sufficient. 45K for the top end models, and 60K for the base variants is not enough. Go down still more to 1L for the base and 75-80K for the top end ones, and it will even have more sales.

Verna : 4102

Fluidic strategy seems to have worked here, lets see the numbers in the coming months and then decide. It is too early to say anything.

Etios : 5,002
Liva : 737

I think we have 2 big winners over here. And 2 Super big winners!! Somewhere both the cars pull the strings in your heart and head both.

Polo : 2,679
Vento : 2,457

Decent numbers, but can do still better. Maybe by reducing the waiting period?

What exactly is 'sub-4m'?

Length of the car under 4 meters. Just like the Indigo CS.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by carboy

What exactly is 'sub-4m'?

Sub 4 meters means the length of the car to be less than 4 meters and thus enjoy tax benefit.

[asaraf]

Originally Posted by theragingbull

Civic at just 175 units!!!! Is that the lowest number ever? Seems like the Verna has even taken down cars a segment higher!

i personally like the strategy of hyundai motors and how they were quick to respond to verna transform criticism...

really doubt the management capabilities of other so called automotive giants or why they are not serious for indian market

[sahakar]

The A* numbers really surprised me too. Sub 1000 cars is really shameful. Now either maruti further reduces the rates or faces total demise of the model. I am in the market to buy an auto A* since it's the only sub 5 lakh auto but even then I am taking my time. Only if Maruti cuts another 50k or so there will A* be able to compete.

Cheers

Originally Posted by 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

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by oss

While the 2 week strike at Maruti plant no doubts impacted the numbers, is there an 'Etios' factor behind the steep drop in 'Dezire' numbers!

Somehow, I don't believe there is "an 'Etios' factor behind the steep drop in 'Dezire' numbers". The drop in Dzire figures is most likely solely due to the strike at the Maruti plant.

Imagine a customer walking into a Maruti showroom sometime in June, with a desire to buy a Dzire. Given the drop in Dzire production, he/she would have been told that the Dzire is not available at that moment and that there would be a long waiting period for it. Chances that he/she would then proceed to the Toyota showroom and immediately pick up the Etios would be remote, simply because there is an equally long waiting period for the Etios.

I reckon the high Etios numbers are mainly because of the T-badge and the excitement because the mighty Etios sedan is now available to the masses at an affordable Rs 6-7 lakh price tag.

But then, I also foresee a growing number of families in the middle class slowly upgrading from hatches to the more comfortable/prestigious sedans in the years to come. The 2-car concept (one hatch, one sedan) is slowly picking up over here in Goa. As such, I expect the figures of Rs 6 lakh-Rs 8 lakh sedans like Dzire, Etios, Verna, Manza/eCS, Verito, Vento, etc. to show a high growth in the near future.

In this regard, I feel the proposed sub-4 metre sedans would become mighty popular among the masses.

By the way, what has happened to sales of the following cars:

* Premier (Rio)
* IMCL (Rhino)
* Tata Xenon
* Force (jeep)
* Reva

[SPARKled]

Toyota Etios numbers are fantastic but I think it mostly a clearing of the huge waiting list more than anything. Its still a bit to early to say if it can consistently keep up this numbers especially for the petrol.

Was Dzire the only model affected by the strike? Coz all the other Marutis seem to be on target. A-star and Estilo have been convincingly beaten by the Spark and that is good to see, considering it is a much better car. But is it a affect of the strike?

Tata has improved a bit with their Indica which was seeing a dip for the last few months.

Micra has settled at a reasonable number and I guess we will see a similar figure for the next few months.

Honda City is no longer selling at a consistent 4k-5k numbers that it was doing not too long ago so I am not sure if the initial euphoria of price cuts can be sustained too long. Jazz figures are a sore sight as usual.

[Me-hul]

Originally Posted by GTO

Movers & Shakers:Doesn't look like the facelift did anything for the Corolla's fortunes. It's beaten by both, the Laura & the Cruze (in particular).

The nos are low for Corolla as the production ramp up is going on for the new model.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Movers & Shakers:

- Overall, not a bright month for most manufacturers. Astronomically high petrol prices & rising interest rates are impacting growth.

Thanks GTO for the observations. Quite an interesting read!

Some quick observations on some of the manufacturers listed.

Fiat: Extremely disappointing month for Linea.

Ford: Figo look settled around the 5000s. Looking forward to the so called cosmetic corrections in a few months. And it will be interesting to see New Fiesta’s performance in next month’s figures.

Honda: Good show by the City. Quite an achievement with the petrol only option. No improvement whatsoever for Jazz – disappointing.

Suzuki: Not so good show by SX4. I am quite surprised. Whether and facelift coming or not coming, no impact at all on the Swift.

Skoda: Overall, a good show by Skoda. Looks like they are moving out of the negative publicity zone. But I was expecting a better show from the Yeti.

Volkswagen: Passat way behind its less glamorous cousin Superb.

It will be interesting to see the figures from Renault.

[bala80]

Its disheartening to note there has not been any effort from VW to increase production and cater to the demand. I could see the dispatch numbers stagnant at 2XXX levels constantly for 3 months in a row now for the Vento. Looks like, they deliberately want to keep this trend of 6 months waiting period for the diesel Vento!!!

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by misquitas

Somehow, I don't believe there is "an 'Etios' factor behind the steep drop in 'Dezire' numbers". The drop in Dzire figures is most likely solely due to the strike at the Maruti plant.

Imagine a customer walking into a Maruti showroom sometime in June, with a desire to buy a Dzire. Given the drop in Dzire production, he/she would have been told that the Dzire is not available at that moment and that there would be a long waiting period for it. Chances that he/she would then proceed to the Toyota showroom and immediately pick up the Etios would be remote, simply because there is an equally long waiting period for the Etios.

I reckon the high Etios numbers are mainly because of the T-badge and the excitement because the mighty Etios sedan is now available to the masses at an affordable Rs 6-7 lakh price tag.

I agree. The huge fall in numbers of Dzire and SX4 are primarily due to strike and also due to the weekly shut down at Manesar. Toyota has also smartly seen this as an opportunity and pumped in stocks to the dealer outlets. Maruti dealers would have significantly reduced their inventory in june. I am sure Dzire and SX4 numbers will go back to their normal 9K and 2.5K respectively in july.

[amitwlele]

Thanks GTO for the monthly figures and Smartcat for the excel charts.

I find it really surprising and glad to see Indica/Vista post a 48% increase as compared to last month and trying to find the reason for this. Is this because of the petrol price hike? But then Swift does not show any increase. Is this because folks are waiting for the new Swift?

What could be the reason for this? No other hatchback has shown such a big increase in sales.