[hrman]

Great compilation GTO. Every month end, I wait for this thread to show up.

As far as the figures go:-
1. Happy to see Rapid the number two in C2 segment and overtaking its sibling the Vento (cheap thrills)
2. Verna is the undisputed leader of this segment for a few months. Don't see it losing its position in a hurry. A great looking car available with lesser waiting now. I just feel there are too many white vernas, rapids and ventos on the road compared to the other colours.
3. The New Fiesta is a dud as the sales figures show. What was Ford thinking by the atrocious pricing? Its too late to recover now.
4. Sad to see the one time Segment leader Honda City languishing. Honda have only themselves to blame by not focusing on Diesel a tad early. Such a lovely car with a good package, lost out in the diesel race.
5. I20 is a pleasant surprise, by overtaking their own I10. The competition in the 6-9 lakhs bracket is heating up.
6. Bolero going huge guns. Am sure the transport and tourist segment has a lion's share in the sales.

[sivadeep]

Thanks GTO for another outstanding monthly insight

Pl shed more light on Why & How Bolero so successful? Any feedback from Mahindra on the same?

[vibbs]

Thanks GTO for the analysis. Had been eagerly waiting for this one.

Feel sad for jazz and Aria. Two good products not making mark in the market one due to the absence of a diesel other due to its pricing.
Ertiga numbers dont seem to show complete pictures. Remember the car commands a long waiting specially for the zdi model. But it does nt seem to have made any dent on the other MUV sales whatsoever. Which goes to prove, people who want genuine seven seaters will still prefer Innova and Xylo over Ertiga.
The facelift has given cruze a lifeline it seems. What a jump that was!!
Wagon R doing good. Wonder how much the cng version has to do in that. Heard quite good reviews about it. Could have done wonders if there were nt issues with availability of CNG I feel.

PS. By the way my 100th Post

[Mister_M]

With the Honda Jazz numbers in June, it is clear that April and May number hikes were most probably their huge waiting lists caused due to the Thailand floods. Now, having their backlogs fully met - JAZZ figures are back to its normalcy, even some 100 nos higher than Jan to March (pre-flood scenario).


With this consideration, I even see that the 7.5 rupee petrol price hike has NOT really affected Jazz sales. Indian Car buyers seem to have started understanding the value of this "Best in its class" car!

[Sunilrj]

Looks like the Honda Figures of the Previous Month were due to Honda Stuffing the Dealers upto the Brim with Inventories.

ditto with other Manufacturers who had an unnatural spike in sales the previous Month.

Great to see Yeti Managing 168 Copies this month around.

Shocking that Grand Vitara found 3 homes in June inspite of Petrol costing a bomb! SX-4 with its diesel heart just Manages 408 ? is it the case of maruti Going Cheap as mentioned somewhere in these forums ?

Nissan 370Z has a hat-trick duck and gives company to HM EVO X and Camry!

the VAG Group Seems to be laughing its way to the Bank with its identical Twins namely the Rapid and Vento who Manage 5827 Units!

a request to the Forum Bosses to also include the Beemers and audis and mercs in this list!

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

M&M overtaking TATA (by a bigger margin this time) comes as no surprise, considering M&M's fierce strategies and products when compared to TATA's lacklustre attitude towards the passenger segment. The recent improvement in M&M's customer care (compared to TATA) can be seen as a good example.

M&M's fierce strategies & products vs, Tata's lacklustre attitude?

You are some distance away from the truth. TML is as fiercely competitive as any company, whether in the auto industry or in the FMCG industry or electronics industry.

I have iterated it many times in this forum that M&M is in a very sweet spot of the market - UV& MUV & SUV. There is just no international competition in all the segments that it is plying right now and this will remain for sometime.

While TML for whatever the reason concentrated its energies on the passenger car segment. Where it is fighting with the world's best for market share. Consequently,it will be battered more.

And mind you I won't get into subjective issues like customer care to compare the improvements made by the two firms, but on objective parameters like products, quality etc, both are as good or as bad. Given the market realities, it is highly unfair to term one as fierce in its approach & the other lackadaisical.

[racer_ash]

Swift and Dzire featuring in the top losers of the month is no surprise for me. I think Maruti shifted to overdrive to clear the order backlogs and this trend is more of a correctional effect. We will see the numbers settle down in a couple of months from now. Then we will know what is the actual per month demand for these two cars.

Great going by Hyundai. i20 figures goes on to show that th Indian customer is willing to pay a little extra for cars with good features.

Bolero needs a special mention month after month. Its really a star from the Mahindra stable.

[paragpatankar]

Honda decline is absolutely shocking. Given the poor figures of Honda, any discounts being offered on the Jazz in Bangalore ?
I need to replace my ageing Alto Vx 1.1 , and the Jazz and Ertiga are on the radar, maybe the Duster if the Petrol has the Safety options (might not be). If nobody likes petrols any more, why is there such a long wait time for Ertiga ZXi (I was quoted 2-3 months, that too not guaranteed).

[safari_lover]

No Tata car in the Top 10. Is that the first time in a very long time, if not ever? I think their only hope for numbers would be the Nano Diesel.

What else can TML do for now? IMO, they could do well by getting the Manza CS quickly and Venture with the CR4 engine advertising 25KMPL. A lower priced version of the Vista with the CR4 engine may also not be a bad idea.

Looks like M&M is the flavor of the season. They clearly have a momentum going and with the anticipated launch of Mini Xylo they should be able to consolidate their position.

[W.A.G.7]

Interesting trends seen in the petrol market ! No doubt the petrol price hike has hit car manufacturers hard. It's also hard to believe that the Alto sells in so many numbers despite being a petrol only hatch.

Query: Why is it the case of some manufacturers that sedans seem to be selling more than their hatchbacks? (Honda, Nissan, Skoda, Toyota for example) Their hatchbacks are equally competent, if not more than their sedans; but yet sales of their hatchbacks have not picked up quite as expected.

[anurag.somani]

The variation in Honda sales figures are like a sine wave!
Have been planning to buy a jazz for sometime, but if the sales dip to such levels; not sure that Honda will be able to survive in India for long. That's putting off potential customers further away.

[BurningHeart]

Great report.

Some strange things I would like a perspective on:
1. Why would Rapid lead Vento in sales by ~30%? First of all, it is a brand-engineered Skoda and secondly, it is a Skoda. It is purely strange that it leads "the original" by a distance.
2. Are we flying less these days? Why Verito is losing out? It is a brilliant car for the taxi market. What is taking its place?
3. Why does Beat do so well? It is not a 3x better car than Spark is. Is that due to sticky fuel?

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by BurningHeart

Are we flying less these days? Why Verito is losing out? It is a brilliant car for the taxi market. What is taking its place?

Verito is losing out to the Dzire and Etios!

Cheers!

[urajkumar]

Originally Posted by BurningHeart

Great report.

Some strange things I would like a perspective on:
1. Why would Rapid lead Vento in sales by ~30%? First of all, it is a brand-engineered Skoda and secondly, it is a Skoda. It is purely strange that it leads "the original" by a distance.
2. Are we flying less these days? Why Verito is losing out? It is a brilliant car for the taxi market. What is taking its place?
3. Why does Beat do so well? It is not a 3x better car than Spark is. Is that due to sticky fuel?

My thoughts on your question.

1) Rapid is at least 50K lesser than Vento and VW's crazy idea that ppl will pay more for VW "premium" brand is not working. For us in India, Skoda is a premium brand considering its initial success with Octavia, then laura and now Superb

2) lol it could be because of Maruti Dzire & Etios going into Taxi segment. Not to mention, saw a couple of Ertiga taxis in mumbai already

3) Beat is selling only bcos a peppy 3 cylinder diesel engine with the highest ARAI mielage & lowest cost of ownership (low On road prices along with 3 years warranty). its a unbeatable combination. if the same car was sold by Maruti, it would be selling minimum 20,000 Cars every month.

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Interesting trends seen in the petrol market ! No doubt the petrol price hike has hit car manufacturers hard. It's also hard to believe that the Alto sells in so many numbers despite being a petrol only hatch.

Query: Why is it the case of some manufacturers that sedans seem to be selling more than their hatchbacks? (Honda, Nissan, Skoda, Toyota for example) Their hatchbacks are equally competent, if not more than their sedans; but yet sales of their hatchbacks have not picked up quite as expected.

I think the entry level segment will always be dominated by Petrol hatches because of the lower pricing. I mean which manufacturer can give a diesel hacth for less than 2L. Only the Nano (D), if it will be launched will come close to the 2L territory and there will not be any other choice

Regarding your second query, I put it this way. Even though Maruti has a very competent sedan SX4 (dzire is more of a boot job and not a proper sedan IMO), not many people would like to go for it because of the small car image associated with Maruti. They go for brands like Honda, Toyota etc which entered the market with sedans. Hatches have always been synonymous with Maruti, Hyundai, Tata etc and the manufacturers like Toyota and Honda have only now ventured into the hatch space. I presume, it will take time for these brands to gain visibility in the hatch segment and shed their big car, big maintenance image and gain acceptance.