[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by Maverick79

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!

I had a look at the Eon last week.I was not surprised for two things. Extremely good interiors, fit and finish and very high price for this entry level car.
But the sales of Eon will definitely be better though its priced higher. This is in similar lines to overly priced i10 and i20.

Originally Posted by BurningHeart

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

I am planning for second car and test drove spark last week.
Test drive was a longer one from Anna salai to beach road via Parry's and back. I felt extremely happy driving it. Soft suspension, adequate torque, powerful AC.
Was a wonderful experience driving it.
I mean all this for the price its offered - LS variant after discount was offered at 3.6lks.
Pleasantly surprised!

[SDP]

Originally Posted by 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.

As always, the numbers reported are dealer dispatches.

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

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??

Interesting question. In my opinion, when the manufacturer receives full-payment from the "dealer" (and not the "end customer"), the sale should be considered as complete.

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by SDP

As always, the numbers reported are dealer dispatches.

Really? As in for example the number of Cars Maruti Suzuki India Limited(Manufacturer) ships to its dealers? In that case the numbers need may not exactly exhibit the end customer demand.

Interesting question. In my opinion, when the manufacturer receives full-payment from the "dealer" (and not the "end customer"), the sale should be considered as complete.

Assuming only completed sales are being reported here... it sounds quite hard to believe from an pure accounting point of view. Because Manufacturer - Dealer relationship often works on Credit basis.

As soon as the stock is ready for shipment, the manufacturer invoices them to the respective dealerships and they instantly debit the dealerships account with the manufacturer. The actual payment may take place before or after the actual dispatch depending on the pre decided credit terms. The time lag between the invoicing and actual payment may range anywhere between 15 to 45 days.

So in that case when the dealer places order for say 1000 Nanos from TATA motors limited in the month of November but sells only 250 units to retail individual customers like you and me, going by your logic only 1000 still gets reported. Eh?

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Really? As in for example the number of Cars Maruti Suzuki India Limited(Manufacturer) ships to its dealers? In that case the numbers need may not exactly exhibit the end customer demand.

Yes, it is true. Search for "dealer dispatches" in this forum and you will find a lot of posts in the sales analysis threads of past months referring to "dealer dispatches".

Is it accurate indicator of the demand/sale? In my opinion, in the short term, it is not, but over a few months, the averages and trends are going to be fairly accurate. I mean, if a dealer is not able to sell a good portion of his inventory in a particular month, would he keep on ordering in large numbers in subsequent months?

There might be "minimum order per month" requirements between manufacturers and dealers and that can twist the real demand picture. e.g. somewhere in this forum it was mentioned that Mahindra keeps on dispatching Veritos (Logan) in fixed number to all dealers (whether the need it or not).

[AmarPaithankar]

Comprehensive data collection and superb presentation.

Can the authors please mention the source of this important data?

[dkaile]

Honda had a bad month but I doubt if the City would be able to regain its segment topping position without the diesel that is slated to hit in 2013.

Out of all the Luxury SUV's only the Fortuner seems to have increased it's last month's performance even with the facelift on the horizon. Etios and Liva slowly edging in the Suzuki's bread and butter segment. Nothing happens overnight. Word of mouth spreads slowly.

Aria once again disappoints and going downhill. Maybe the New Safari Merlin can redeem this lost opportunity for Tata. It badly needs a diesel for it's Nano to realise its dream of the No. 1 slot. And XUV as a 'premium' SUV?? Now come on seriously!! At best its a slot below the Innova. Features can never substitute for technological prowess.

I agree completely that the Rapid 'will' become the segment leader soon and may even take the erstwhile City's top slot due to its diesel variant. If only Skoda can get it's service backup sorted out!

[SDP]

Originally Posted by dkaile

And XUV as a 'premium' SUV?? Now come on seriously!! At best its a slot below the Innova. Features can never substitute for technological prowess.

Its a long shot, but not completely unimaginable. And yes, beyond the bare minimum necessities, the features are the only thing that differentiate what you get for 20L as against what you get for 40L.

BTW, the whole "segment" concept in our market is so poorly defined that I always take that information with a pinch of salt. e.g. is there a crisp definition of what qualifies as a C segment sedan? Its all hazy and manufacturers can claim +- one segment easily. (Can Nissan claim Sunny to be a D segment car purely based on rear-seat leg room? Yes, why not. Nobody would buy that logic but that should not hinder Nissan anyways )

In this particular case, Mahindra can position Bolero as their entry level SUV, Scorp as SUV and XUV as premium SUV based on price and features.

[~~h]

Feel really bad for the fiesta, loved the dynamics of the car; only if it was priced sensibly.
One more graph suggestion: we can try using pattern fills instead of similiar colors.

Originally Posted by ACM

Actually it is now a complete different set of persons for FIAT right from sales persons to Service Advisors to dedicated Fiat areas in both showroom and service centres where TATA cars and branding cannot even be placed. So TASS isn't really the problem.

Only on paper and board meeting presentations; the ground reality is still the same.

[KPS]

I understand that there was dictate for the Maruti Dealers to pick up one Kizashi especially the dealers who have not sold one. Hence I am sure you will see Dealers in Tier 2-3 cities driving a Kizashi

Cheers

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by KPS

I understand that there was dictate for the Maruti Dealers to pick up one Kizashi especially the dealers who have not sold one. Hence I am sure you will see Dealers in Tier 2-3 cities driving a Kizashi

Cheers

Yes, confirmed. I saw the local Maruti dealer roaming around in the Kizashi yesterday, the only one in the city... lolz

[amateurpro]

Good to see Etios rocking and trying to steady around the 4 k mark (disclaimer - part of this happiness is in owning a Petrol version myself). The Etios sibling Liva has had a decent month. Innova and Fortuner continue to impress. Ideally Corolla should be ideally doing 1500 to 2000 considering the addition of diesel engine but for some reason or the other, the Corolla sales charts are not on fire after the diesel launch.

The two biggies from Japan, Toyota and Suzuki had a good month. Not so fortunate was Honda. I simply cannot understand why the Jazz numbers are so low (even considering production constraints). But with two great brands - City and Jazz, it is a matter of time before Honda recovers.

Among the Indian players, M & M is impressing not just with numbers but also commands a healthy respect in India that is usually reserved for European or Japanese cars. Tata has recovered a bit. Tatas have an interesting product mix in C segment as they are the only ones to offer a compact sedan and an estate car. They should do even better numbers in C segment. Indica numbers are fine but it is high time the aesthetics are improved.

Hyundai is in a league of its own. They seem to be defining the rules in B and C segment with their i20 and Verna.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by GTO

• Got a HM-Mitsubishi showroom close by? Go, take a picture. It’s soon going to be history. Except for the Pajero, the Mitsubishis put in tear-inducing performances. The Ambassador, which used to bring in some cash to pay the bills, is also tanking. Babus apparently prefer modern steeds to take them to work (whenever that is ).

While there are some genuine Ambassador fans in the country but one must confess that the C K Birla group is nowhere qualified to run an automobile company. They survived and thrived on Government grace through public sector purchases. Lately this too has even dried given the barely reached century number. Probably about 80% of those sales are due to the purchases made by the taxi segment in Kolkata. Indeed the state of affairs is a reflection of the state itself where the Communists for 34 years imposed their militant labor rules while fostering complacence in the C K Birla group. They even assured and bent laws, bypassed central directives, ignored Supreme Court and High Court directives to allow the sale and plying of Ambassador taxis in the city. They did their level best to prevent the Tatas to sell the Indigos as a taxi even though the Tatas had made an open offer .

I personally find the ambassador one of the most uncomfortable cars to ride in even if its built like a tank (no offense to fans). The build quality and finish is one of the worst imaginable, and to add to their pathetic state the taxis are the most ill maintained vehicles on the roads belching out toxic fumes. Its such an embarrassment when my clients come visiting from other countries and look at this clunker with crooked brows specially the yellow bumble bee types (taxis). I have found my colleagues from other cities even taking pictures of this pathetic relic. Extremely embarrassing. The meters are routinely tampered with, the Government willfully turning a blind idea to placate the taxi unions. The less said about their defiance of any traffic rule, the better. Obviously the C K Birla group is banking on washing its hands off soon so that they can sell the 400 plus acre land of prime real estate just off NH2 and next to the Hooghly river. Given the state of affairs now I am sure the floor supervisor calls his workers at their homes or wherever they are napping if by any chance a new order is received for this car. No need of an assembly line, hand crafted precision at its worst. I am hoping for a faster death to this car and better sense prevail with the Government to take the land and utilize for some more productive and efficient industry . The downside is Mitsubishi for all its worth either has to hunt for a new partner or enter the ring to play the game by its rules. Again purely my personal opinion and no offense meant to any one.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by KPS

I understand that there was dictate for the Maruti Dealers to pick up one Kizashi especially the dealers who have not sold one. Hence I am sure you will see Dealers in Tier 2-3 cities driving a Kizashi

Cheers

Finally spotted Kizashi in Bangalore today. Not one but two! Both in an around Koramangala and was driven by owners. So, looks like some sale has happened last month.

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Finally spotted Kizashi in Bangalore today. Not one but two! Both in an around Koramangala and was driven by owners. So, looks like some sale has happened last month.

Yeah i was told by Pratham SA that they have sold close to 20 Kizashi's in the last few months. I was surprised but it seems like a clearance sale from Suzuki.

Hopefully this will spur Maruti to look at Kizashi pricing again, which can make it look Value for Money.

[blueblooded]

Originally Posted by auto-one

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.

If top management is not interested in selling the product what the hell they are being paid for then ?The Italians must be really very rich for no one can be so smug as they are month after month.
May be they dont know whats product marketing is all about .
Sooner than latter they have close the shop
Its sad that such a nice product is being worsted by some callous management gurus who are more into arm chair theorising than into basics of product management
regards
praveen singh