[Swanand Inamdar]

Impressive analysis for sure. Gets a lot more details than the previous versions.

Absolutely surprised to see the Passat outsell the Superb. Probabaly, a first for VW too. Logistics sure seem to be the issue.

On another hand, Skoda seems to have had a winner with the Rapid. With 957 units already sold, and god knows how many booked, the car would bring in unseen numbers for Skoda. An SA in Europa Skoda happened to mention that 55-60 bookings have already been registered for the Rapid!

Honda has been plain unlucky. First the earthquake in Japan, and now the floods in Thailand seem to affect the production. Nonetheless, they have shown impressive performance with the numbers of the City.

[svsantosh]

It is ironical I saw a lone ford fiesta (new dud) in my town, driving towards bangalore, suddenly I realized, hey I missed to read the sales trend thread - and what a treat this has been. Amazing data analysis.

One Suggession to Jassy/GTO - in a chart where too many lines are to be shown, dont just change the color shades (I cant really make out what slumped REALLY LOW B-segment Trends JULY2011) - its too difficult to differentiate colors in a copy-paste chart where data cannot be tied back to the source.

Please use different types/designs of lines to help in readability.

Otherwise a Kickbutt report... Kuods.

[Coolman]

Great presentation...

Originally Posted by GTO

• Conversely, it’s a desert dry spell for the Ritz (production diverted to the Swift), Eeco, A-Star & Estilo.

In the 2 months before November, Ritz sales were poor just like any other Maruti, owing to the labour unrest and its aftermath which is resolved now and hopefully will not creep up again, at least not in the near future.

From the November sales, I understand that MS Ritz hasn’t done as well as it is could have. As you mentioned, I see that could be due to the Production focus diverted heavily towards clearing the New Swift backlogs. If this is the case, then it shouldn't be too much to worry about. I was planning to buy “Ritz petrol” shortly. Is there any other reason to worry about?

OR Are we expecting the Ritz to clock better numbers in the coming months and be where it belongs?

Thanks,
C_

[prasana_19]

I had almost decided to book Spark LPG over BEAT diesel, but after seeing this wonderful analysis, I am in a quandary now. With such a declining sale, i dont want to buy a product which is in its end of life cycle (or am thinking so ). God should help to take a call soon, :(

[amateurpro]

Originally Posted by prasana_19

I had almost decided to book Spark LPG over BEAT diesel, but after seeing this wonderful analysis, I am in a quandary now. With such a declining sale, i dont want to buy a product which is in its end of life cycle (or am thinking so ). God should help to take a call soon, :(

If Spark's sales numbers are a reflection of how good or bad the car is, then you should worry. I dont think that is the case here. Though I dont own a Spark myself, I have known a couple of Spark owners who are happy owning Spark. I had a chance to be driven in Spark few times and felt delighted with the rich upmarket feel one get inside. It also felt roomy for a car of such small exterior dimensions. No issues on refinement / performance too compared to what one expects in this segment.

Spark, to me, is a cute small car. If you like the car, you can go for it.

My previous car was an Estilo and I had owned it for five years. We all loved the car and we never bothered about the low Estilo sales.

[Maverick79]

Guys Found one more interesting find in this superb analysis by GTO and gang.

Hyundai Total figures - Eon figures = 27582, which is less than TATA's total. Though very marginal.

So India's No.2 position is going to be a neck to neck situation soon.

Eon's figures are impressive, though it has lesser appeal for its interior quality and high pricing.
I should say, a good strategy by Hyundai!

[romeomidhun]

It is clear from the data that the new entrants are driving the sales figures for all companies.

Don't write-off Honda - they will be back with a bang once the Thailand flood situation and their parts supply is under control.

Maruti has sold less numbers compared to last year. One reason may be that Alto sold around 30 - 35K monthly on last November.
Also, this year, Maruti don't have a new volume seller to push volumes. They had Eeco to do that last year. Ertiga and new DZire CS may do it for Maruti next year.

Eeco numbers are down - may be Maruti uses the Gurgaon plant for Swift, DZire and other newer models. They know they can manufacture Eeco / Omni at any time (read 'during strike'), but not new models like Swift / DZire. Any news about another strike?

Though Eon is selling at 7K level, combined volume of Eon, Santro and i10 is around 22K, and previously it was around 19 - 20K with Santro and i10 combined - a mere 2 to 3K increase. Clearly, Eon eats into Hyundai's own pie more than any others'.

[rambo1o1]

Excellent analysis GTO

Shocked to see the sales of the new swift and dzire, people really love these cars! Astar, estilo and grand vitara not doing too well for maruti.Come on maruti at least reduce the price of the vitara and plonk a diesel!

Ford fiesta(new) is a dud! high price, poor interiors just denying it a place in the top,wake up ford!! I guess ford should bring out the new Endeavour soon and atleast give some completion to the Fortuner who seems to be leaving everyone way behind.

Hyundai isn't having a hard time selling the Verna , 1month+ waiting period for the petrol is testimony to that. i guess people dont mind that 'Boat' handling. got to test drive it soon!

Feel bad for fiat. Nothing is going its way. Hope it breaks away from tata and opens its own showrooms and launches some new cars !! palio needs to be replaced ASAP!!

[BurningHeart]

GTO and Jalsa777,

It is always better to see trends that a B/Sheet kind of view. Thank you for that and I work in analytics, so I find it clutter-free and communicative.

I have been postponing a Cruze-buy decision for 5-6 months now, and the drop in volumes, hopefully will mean the following for me:
1. Chevy will rethink the price point for LTZ in BLR
2. The refresh (rumoured to be coming in Dec/Jan) will not be priced at a premium

Just as an aside, recently colleagues dragged me into TD'ing the XUV500. Despite the squealing brakes and "a flat" middle bench which we did not like, I was astonished to see the superb packaging. I was thinking, why would I want to pay 17.5 L OTR for the Cruze in BLR (of course, there are several reasons such as me being a car guy predominantly). So I hope Cruze is re-priced! I just need some justifcation to buy that car now over XUV.

Kizashi sales FTM blew the day lights out of me literally and for the first time, I saw a piece in Bangalore. But I just thought it was just a kitted up SX4 when it was overtaking me. I do not know what to make out of the blip in sales, but the 2 L discount must be helping it move it out of the shelves.

Jetta is being loved already and that is so justified. It is such a great design. Interesting to think, if they had ACC and more premium interiors, would the scenario be substantially different?

Commendable for MUL to bring it together finally.

Overall, an unexpected performance of the industry towards the fag end of the year. Finally, we have shed our qualms of the "it will soon be a year old syndrom".

Good weekend!
BH.

[auto-one]

Originally Posted by GTO

Fiat’s strategy needs a major overhaul if its cars are to sell. Only problem is, no one knows what the real problem is. No, it’s not the after-sales, else Tata wouldn’t manage to do well with the exact same network. The Punto & Linea have yet another sub-par month. Together, and with all of 3 engine options each, the two only just cross the 1,000 level.

I feel there are 4 major reasons for Fiat's failure in the market:--

1.) The top management somehow seems to be least interested in selling Fiat cars or may be they haven't understood the problems and hence can't find out the solutions.

2.) The Fiat service ( managed by Tata )
3.) Poor brand image among the customers.
4.) Inconsistent product quality along with some niggles.

[swiftdiesel]

The reigning B-segment topper Swift has done it again with 17000+ units. Figo and the rest of the clan are nowhere close. Ironically, Toyota has failed miserably in its attempt to capture Swift's market. Toyota's catch phrases, i.e. "reliability/low maintenance" doesn't seem to work here with its sub-par quality offerings. I'm glad better buying sense prevailed with the buying majority.

[BurningHeart]

Originally Posted by amateurpro

I had a chance to be driven in Spark few times and felt delighted with the rich upmarket feel one get inside. It also felt roomy for a car of such small exterior dimensions. No issues on refinement / performance too compared to what one expects in this segment.

Spark, to me, is a cute small car. If you like the car, you can go for it.

I drive a Spark LS for office commute and I have clocked 53k in 2.5 years. No issues at all, and it still drives like new barring the little squeaks in the front suspension spring when they're compressed fully by the speed breakers in BLR. But we just love the long runs we had, when we did not felt like taking the Ikon along. Spark is cute little car, with a lot of space inside, for that segment and you will really enjoy the hassle-free ownership. We just adore this car.

You will never go wrong with the Spark, if you choose it.

BH.

[Musa]

Hi GTO & Jalsa777,

You could use Google Chart Tools which can be incorporated into the T-Bhp site. And its free.
God bless Google.
God bless T-Bhp

cheers,
musa

Google Chart Tools - Google Code

[Ashley2]

Cant the charts be with legends.
Almost impossible to track any models

[Warwithwheels]

Sorry if it has been explained elsewhere... Just curious to know what these numbers mean. As in do they mean the no.of cars that roll out of the showrooms (read: cars delivered) or the order book numbers. It definetly can't be the production numbers because we are looking at the sales chart here.

And lastly when does a manufacturer consider a sale complete... For instance somebody pays in full on 30th november and takes delivery on 1st december. Where does the number fall? in nov or dec??