[koushik]

I was serching for this data for over 80 hours and proud to find it here. I am surprised with the response Eritga received. This is a massive gain for Eritga. Then who is loser in this category? I think trend has partially been shifted from SUV and some diesel sedans in favour of Eritga.I think Eritga will still do magic in the coming months.

[W.A.G.7]

Thanks for the monthly sales analysis. April really seems to be a mediocre month for all the manufactures.

Swift gaining the top position was not unexpected I feel. I feel it deserves that no. 1 spot for the VFM option it is. Ditto for the Dzire. Even though it has its own quirks, it still is another VFM offering from Maruti.

The surprising part is drop in the sales of the Sunny. Maybe it is the Rapid effect? Nissan has its own strengths, but for some crazy reason they don't seem to be interested in capitalizing on their products. They should really plan for some aggressive pricing and advertising to sell more.

[Vid6639]

The month of April is usually bad but one thing is for sure. Premium cars have been hit hard by the budget. The Jetta, Laura, Passat, Accord and Civic have had a very poor month. The reason is the extra % tax on the premium cars that have resulted in prices increasing to the tune of 2lakhs compared to March.

[gauravdgr8]

A much awaited thread. Last night tried searching on the forum. When I could not find anything, tried goggling April 2012 car sales analysis and still did not get anything. Had to wait.

A super write-up. Sad to see the Tata numbers. Don't think that the Nano will ever touch that 20,000 mark.

[himavanth_m]

I think the budget has had a big say in the dwindling numbers of car sales. Almost all the car manufacturers saw a big dip and this was expected.

However, the Alto sales at 18k is truly shocking. This drip could not be caused by the budget alone.

The way I see it, the budget played a big part in Verna gaining sales from Skoda Rapid and VW Vento.
Earlier, Vento, Rapid and Verna used to be among the same cost group. But Verna has cheaper diesel options. If I go to buy a diesel vehicle with 9 lac budget, earlier all the 3 used to be part of my choice. Due to increase in prices of vehicles, now with a 9 lac budget only the Verna will be my option. Hence my guess is that this had an impact on increasing the diesel Verna sales.

I am not sure how Renault and Fiat will crawl back into the numbers game. Seems like a dead end to me especially for Renault. Though Fiat has some die hard fans, what does Renault have going for it? All of Renault's vehicles are overpriced in my opinion.
Fiat, if it brings in Fiat Panda at a good price, they might be able to crawl back slowly. However it is an uphill task for them.

[needforspeed88]

As i have mentioned in several threads Hyundai's strategy to be too clever with Eon has landed them in a big soup. While Eon is doing respectable if not great numbers, it is not coming at the cost of its competitors but its own siblings. Eon being a new product with such as huge investment, Hyundai should have made sure they provide a conducive environment for Eon to thrive. There is not much life left in the Santro and i am afraid Hyundai should be diverting their attention towards the eon. Provide a 4 cylinder engine in the Eon as an option, so that it can continue to exist with the three cylinder variant.

Hyundai i10's direct competitors like Ritz, Beat and Figo have a diesel option while Brio has been priced aggressively by Honda. Even the base/mid variants of Swift compete toe to toe with the i10. Now with this barrage of onslaught i10 has started to show a slump in sales. Hyundai need to bring in a diesel motor as an option at the earliest in the i10. It won't be long before Santro's figures to drop below 3k units and at the levels it would be prudent for Hyundai to equip Eon with the 4 cylinder motor and pull the plug on the Santro at-least in the major cities. Maruti will be coming with the Cervo around Diwali and if Eon hasn't settled down by then, then i am afraid Hyundai would have lost a massive opportunity to cash in.

[volkman10]

Alto losing the top position seems unexpected and could be many reasons attached to that. Guess will regain the same in the coming months.
Swift gaining that slot is commendable. Maruti's sales will further consolidate with the unfolding success of the Ertiga.
Fiat has another dry month, less said the better.

feel it deserves that no. 1 spot for the VFM option it is. Ditto for the Dzire. Even though it has its own quirks, it still is another VFM offering from Maruti.
Pulse Micra has slipped further, could be the wafer thin dealers?

Surprising part is drop in the sales of the Sunny. Maybe it is the Rapid effect?

Tata's not having a good month with the Aria proving to be a dud.

Cheers!

[Rameshdude]

Laura 227, Jetta 187 and Fluence 177. Not so a big difference, for a new comer when compared with the established ones. And Koleos out selling Captiva !
Sad to see Yeti numbers going down, a nice man in the wrong group .
Verna, i20, xuv5oo,packed with features,and well priced, these companies have been around for long,and they know the Indian mind, and it reflects in the figures. Is this so hard for the others to read?

[KPS]

The Toyota story is a clear case study. It clearly shows that the India buyers is maturing faster than what the manufactures are anticipating. Maruti is an Outlier in India but their badly positioned models that do not sell.

The Liva and Etios is case in point where Toyota thought they will sell big number of a non-premium car just by their name. Believe me, if they had got the Yaris they would have been selling more than the current Etios numbers. You will notice more and more Etios as taxi's in the last few months. Whenever I go the airport, I tend to notice more Etios taxi's. In my belief, the Etios will be a remain sub 5K seller with share of taxi segment increasing.

Hyundai remains quite consistent in its over all numbers, though the mix is changing. Being a proud Verna owner (June'11, 11K odo), I am very happy to see the fantastic numbers this car is posting MOM

Drop Alto numbers are big surprise, would it mean a face lift is coming?

Cheers

KPS

[Torquedo]

Thanks for the wonderful report and charts, GTO & Jalsa777.

20 Optra's in the month of April , less than the Koleos, about the same as the Nissan Teana, I am shell shocked.

It is very hard to understand why this beast does not sell well, it just about has everything and at a very justified price.

God save the Optra, GM it seems is just bothered about the Cruze and Beat D.

[ulhas.ahirrao]

Great analysis. Interesting to see that none of the Honda cars is in Top 20! I was hoping Brio does it for Honda but now wondering how Honda is going to tackle this??

[MAS]

I was looking forward to this analysis. Thank you very much GTO & Jalsa for your effort in compiling the enormous data into useful information.

- TATA have taken a big hit in sales + Fiat walking away from them. Fiat have a fresh opportunity in hand, even though it has a big heavy baggage to carry around. Hope they put their act together and launch a number of new products to get sales back to decent levels.

- Honda sales has once again gone down after it was able to clear the pending orders.

MODS: The MoM% calculation from Hyundai onwards is incorrect. Kindly check at your end and make necessary changes.

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by KPS

Drop Alto numbers are big surprise, would it mean a face lift is coming?


KPS

Quite Possible. There was a thread with a facelifted alto going rounds. That could probably replace the Alto standard 800 cc model, while Alto K10 would continue. The drop could be due to this and we could probably see a facelifted Alto standard soon

[mayankjha1806]

As it was commented on Ertiga thread elsewhere that MSIL expected Ertiga would be preferred by Sedan buyers and everyone including myself thought Ertiga would finally make a dent in Innova sales.

Although its too early to draw any conclusions yet but my believe does not seem to be holding true for the first two months of Ertiga launch. Innova continues to do well, as it always has.

Hopefully in future Ertiga will make a dent in Innova, giving it some much needed competition.

Excellent reporting and analysis.

[RemingtonSteele]

Slightly Off topic-

Audi to increase India plant capacity by 50 pct
Audi AG plans to increase the capacity at its Indian plant by 50 percent, the head of its India unit said, as it looks to become the country's biggest luxury vehicle brand.

Audi to increase India plant capacity by 50 pct
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Audi AG plans to increase the capacity at its Indian plant by 50 percent, the head of its India unit said, as it looks to become the country's biggest luxury vehicle brand.
The Volkswagen AG-owned carmaker plans to increase capacity at its Aurangabad plant in Maharashtra to 9,000 vehicles from 6,000 vehicles by the end of 2012, Michael Perschke, head of Audi India, said on Thursday.
Audi sold just over 5,500 cars in India in 2011, and targets sales of 8,000 cars in the current calendar year, as it looks to overhaul BMW and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand at the top of the Indian luxury car market.

Ref: Business News - Indian Stock Market, Stock Market News, Business & Finance, Market Statistics | Reuters India