[Hayek]

@GTO, fantastic thread - even better than usual with the new charts from @Jalsa777

Some questions on the segment classification, which may have been addressed in previous months, but were brought out starkly by the new charts:

1) The line between the A and B segment seems a bit artificial. I, for one, would certainly class the A-Star, Wagon R, Estilo, i-10 and Beat in the same segment as the Santro. I am not sure if this is a standard ARAI classification, but why don't you think about it.

From a size perspective, drawing the line between the Wagon R and the Ritz probably makes more sense. On price, the overlap across segments is massive, with some B cars ,like the Jazz being much pricier than even C segment cars.

2) Similarly, as some others have mentioned, it probably makes sense to split out a C minus segment, with cars like the Indigo, Etios, Accent, Fiesta Classic, Aveo in it. The C segment as currently defined is too vast, and comparison is difficult.

3) Would be interesting to have the charts updated once you have data for the standard premium Germans. Please split those into segments too.

Once again, thanks for the fabulous data and presentation.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by GTO

• Got a HM-Mitsubishi showroom close by? Go, take a picture. It’s soon going to be history.

Forget about HM-Mitsubishi, I'm more interested in clicking a snap of the lone buyer of the Palio in the country. I'm sure the dealer would not have ordered the Palio for nostalgic value, but for some customer who must have ordered that vehicle.

Man, that is some claim for the buyer to say, "You know, I'm the only one in the country to have bought a Fiat Palio in 11-11!" May be, he/she should have a registration number on his car that can reflect this unusual title.

And going by the available November figures so far, no one else can lay claim to that "honour" in any other car during the same period, since the Palio was the only one brand to have sold just one car in the country in November.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by GTO

• Interestingly, November was a rare month where sales of C segment sedans overtook that of MUVs & SUVs. No doubt, the plethora of launches & options has made the C sedan segment an exciting category to watch. In fact, if the Honda City had another 4000 unit month, C segment volumes would’ve been within an arm’s length of the entry-level A segment. Skoda was the most recent entrant with the Rapid, a car that’s identical to the Vento, yet priced noticeably lower. Clearly, buyers are looking at value-for-money purchases in the C segment, rather than spending 50% more money in the C+ segment. Just look at how the C+ segment (Corolla, Cruze, Civic etc.) has shrunk down to a mere 1,887 cars….it’s worst performance this year. A sedan like the Hyundai Verna (class-topper in its segment by a significant margin) offer all the tech, equipment, power & style that buyers were looking for in the C+ segment. Why spend more?

Not related to sales statistics, but I wished to buy either the Rapid or the new Fiesta (after discounts) in about 6 months. After checking out various statistics (wheelbase/width) etc, I concluded that save for the elongated boot, most are their hatchback's sibling, a bit stretched that is.

I personally would prefer to go for a C+ segment sedan than a C segment sedan. A Cruz over the Verna. More Car per Car

One of my mates has got himself a Pajero in the month of October from Austin Motors, Calcutta, but the sales statistics show Pajero's record as zero 0 for the month of October

Thanks Jalsa for the format & GTO for the report and statistics.

[carwatcher]

Originally Posted by misquitas

Forget about HM-Mitsubishi, I'm more interested in clicking a snap of the lone buyer of the Palio in the country. I'm sure the dealer would not have ordered the Palio for nostalgic value, but for some customer who must have ordered that vehicle.

Man, that is some claim for the buyer to say, "You know, I'm the only one in the country to have bought a Fiat Palio in 11-11!"

And going by the available November figures so far, no one else can lay claim to that "honour" in any other car during the same period, since the Palio was the only car to have sold just 1 car in the country.

I have also made my guess on the same on page 1 of this thread regarding this, any comments?

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

I have also made my guess on the same on page 1 of this thread regarding this, any comments?

Originally Posted by carwatcher

7. One Fiat Palio sold after a gap of four months. Must have been awarded as a prize in some competition.

Sorry, I did not notice your above comment in the thread. Could be possible that it may have been a prize. But then, why on earth would the event organisers choose to award a Palio as a prize? That itself could have deterred people from taking part in the contest, knowing fully well the general woes in maintaining (servicing) a Fiat car, let alone an almost outdated Fiat model.

[Klub Class]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

7. One Fiat Palio sold after a gap of four months. Must have been awarded as a prize in some competition.

The car in question was a Fiat Palio Stile 1.6 Sports BS III manufactured in June 2010, to the best of my knowledge.

• The quoted price was Rs 3,00,000 Ex-Showroom.
• The car was located in yard at FIAT Ranjagaon Plant
• The car is Bossa Nova White in color. The one which is presently offered in Fiat Punto & Fiat Linea.

Truth to be told, we had considered buying this last Fiat Palio. But later chose against it as the car was left unused for a year or more, the spare parts are expensive when contrasted to retro Fiat Palio. We don't repent NOT buying this last piece as we could get a S10 for dirt cheap price.

Originally Posted by misquitas

But then, why on earth would the event organisers choose to award a Palio as a prize?

There have been instances were Fiat Palio was given as a prize. IIRC, Vanitha, a Malayalam magazine published fortnightly by the Malayala Manorama group had given away a Fiat Palio as the first prize, not sure of the variant though.

[SedatedDrive]

Fiat actually doubled their sales from last month thanks to a slew of marketing ads and offers. Whereas if you look at Chevrolet, they hid behind their diesel engines and offered zilch in comparison.

After visiting the Honda showroom and being offered close to a Lakh in discount for the City, I took my boss to check out the Beat in the Chevy showroom next door. I grimaced when the salesman offered "floor mats and car cover" when my boss asked about discounts. My boss promptly gave me a "Bugger don't waste my time!" look.

In tough times, good deals bring good business.

[carwatcher]

Originally Posted by SedatedDrive

In tough times, good deals bring good business.

I don't think Fiat's situation can be compared with any company, not even Mitsubishi. Reason being they suffer from very very negative (worse than bad) reputation and that too since very long time. They have to regularly come out with some real eye-catching marketing effort.
Now as regards Chevy Cruze and other Diesel cars incl Fiats, I think not much offers are available, infact huge waiting period is going on in all the cars, so why the sales person will show that 'extra' effort than what is needed.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by Klub Class

There have been instances were Fiat Palio was given as a prize. IIRC, Vanitha, a Malayalam magazine published fortnightly by the Malayala Manorama group had given away a Fiat Palio as the first prize, not sure of the variant though.

OK, so the Palio was used as a prize. The health ministry could well have offered a Palio as a prize: Drive out polio & drive out a Palio! Come to think about it, both Polio and Palio are expected to be eradicated in the near future.

Talking about sales, the Fiat story is a tragic tale of a great car company being shredded in the Indian market. Thankfully though, their wonderful engines have lived to tell a different tale. Don't really know why Fiat refuses to divorce Tata, especially when all other car companies are doing much better on their own.

[007 Bond]

Mods please add Force Motors in that :

Force One - 135
Trax (Including Pick Up @ 150 to 175) - 938
Traveller - 978


Thanks a lot

[Turbokick]

135 units of Force One means it is giving tough competition to Aria

I hope Force motor does some price revision with the introduction of ABS/airbag variant. Its the right time to address some of the niggles.
I can see Force improving from there on.

[a4anurag]

Nice Analysis GTO. Good Work Jalsa!

What could the possible reason be behind the high number of sales for Kizashi?

Surprising!

[amtak]

6401 for the nano is a good number. Especially good for someone like me who is trying hard to convince his family to go in for one. looks like the future months would be bright for this small wonder.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Not related to sales statistics, but I wished to buy either the Rapid or the new Fiesta (after discounts) in about 6 months. After checking out various statistics (wheelbase/width) etc, I concluded that save for the elongated boot, most are their hatchback's sibling, a bit stretched that is.

Remember, some hatchback-based sedans get superior engines. That is reason alone to consider the "booted" sibling. Example:

Vento 1.6 Diesel : Best-in-class diesel. Not available on the Polo

Linea T-Jet : Best-in-class petrol. Not available on the Punto.

Same story with the Rapid diesel too.

[nitin.rai]

Originally Posted by GTO

Remember, some hatchback-based sedans get superior engines. That is reason alone to consider the "booted" sibling. Example:
.

I do not buy this reasoning mostly shelled out by automobile manufacturers.

Till the time I used to be in auto costing, the engine cost used to be about 30% of the vehicle cost.
By the above logic, a polo 1.2 tdi trend the engine cost works out to about 1.7 L on an ex-showroom price of 5.6 L.
Vento 1.6 tdi trend works out to 2.5 L on ex-showroom of 8.36 L.

The engine cost diff works out to 80k but the price diff is 2.7 L for a boot, 50 mm of space.
Even after negating the tax levy difference the price difference isn't justified.
This on top of the fact that the 1.2 tdi is a sad, overpriced model (engine wise) & there's already a premium for diesel.

There still a long way to go and a lot of competition to come in before car makers stop short-changing us.