[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Quite clearly there is no point arguing with you.

Sure sir, end of discussion err... argument from my side.

Cheers.

[souravc]

Originally Posted by amitayu

Recently called up Megacabs to book a taxi for airport drop. The automated response started with the announcement that megacabs have started service in Bangalore with a new fleet of Etios. Guess no one would now like to buy an Etios if it is thus touted as the next taxi favourite!!!
Does this count as negative publicity?

Very good point raised , I have heard this being discussed quite often . What I don't get is why should "Etios being used as a cab" be a negative publicity rather than a live example of low maintenance cost, low running cost , rugged comfy car ? I would be kidding myself if I am buying Etios as a premium car, the price point says it is not - but it certainly can be a symbol of comfortable reliable car with low running costs as epitomised by them being used by fleet cabs. Unless of course we think that fleet cab owners are business duffers who put their money down the drain on dud cars .
Cab image didn't dent the sales of Innova , Qualis , Dzire - I really hope that it does not dent the sales of Etios too

[amitayu]

Originally Posted by souravc

Very good point raised , I have heard this being discussed quite often . What I don't get is why should "Etios being used as a cab" be a negative publicity rather than a live example of low maintenance cost, low running cost , rugged comfy car ? I would be kidding myself if I am buying Etios as a premium car, the price point says it is not - but it certainly can be a symbol of comfortable reliable car with low running costs as epitomised by them being used by fleet cabs. Unless of course we think that fleet cab owners are business duffers who put their money down the drain on dud cars .
Cab image didn't dent the sales of Innova , Qualis , Dzire - I really hope that it does not dent the sales of Etios too

Yes, i fully agree with you. Even i have always maintained that the popularity of Indicas amongst taxi operators is a testimony to the car's VFM claims. But the taxi tag did affect the Indica and Indigo sales. the Vista or Manza promotions clearly tried to steer away from this category only to boost the image.
I am wondering whether Toyota is worried about this effect on Etios, or are they actually comfortable as long as it brings in the volumes for them.

[Turbokick]

Originally Posted by amitayu

Yes, i fully agree with you. Even i have always maintained that the popularity of Indicas amongst taxi operators is a testimony to the car's VFM claims. But the taxi tag did affect the Indica and Indigo sales. the Vista or Manza promotions clearly tried to steer away from this category only to boost the image.
I am wondering whether Toyota is worried about this effect on Etios, or are they actually comfortable as long as it brings in the volumes for them.

Even the quality and engineering provided by the manufacturer leads to this kind of perception.
Both indica and indigo were 'built to a price' and 'easy to own' kind of vehicles compared what the competition had to offer.
Innova on the other hand provids best in class quality and engineering which appeals the private car owners apart from commercial market.


IMO etios too appeals the taxi segment more compared to the personal car owners for the kind of bare basic feel it provides . Toyota must be fearing this perception

[sahakar]

Wow Honda really bore the brunt of the petrol price hike. I was quite surprised at their last month's performance and was scratching my head on it. Now I know it was just inventory stuffing. The other petrol biggies Maruti and Hyundai managed well due to their value of money (read Maruti) and diesel options (Hyundai) respectively.

TATA I guess is giving up on the India market for passenger cars. No Nano upgrade (an auto option + a diesel option will work wonders), practically no refresh in any of its models and no new car launched when the competition is going to town with new launches. Arias can now be hand made with the numbers they are doing. The head honchos at TATA will now patiently wait for Indians to get rich to afford LRs and Jags.
Mahindra is nicely filling up the lost space of the TATAs.

The rest of the companies are really happy with the twiddling they are doing in the Indian market. I expected Toyota to really take on Maruti but dont see them doing anything worthwhile for the near future. They are all happy with their few thousands sold here and there.

With the TATAs faltering badly and Hyundai still not being able to match Maruti's value for money, expect Maruti to continue being the numero uno for some time to come.

I guess these would be the numbers on which the Indian market stabilizes for the next couple of years till this Government goes. New launches will give some pops here and there but its really gloom and doom for some time. And if some shocks happen, it will quickly worsen.

Cheers

[RSR]

Thank you so much for sharing these figures, charts and expert comments, GTO and Parrys! This is one thread that I simply cannot miss at the beginning of every month.

My two cents of contribution to this thread:

> Whatever the utterly incompetent politicians and bureaucrats may say, faithfully reproduced by the pathetic Indian mainstream media (TV and print), the economy is entering a recessionary phase, period. Passenger car sales may be a secondary indicator of the well-being of an economy, but the primary ones like those of trucks, tractors and the like are sure to be as gloomy, if not more.

> Maruti Suzuki: The market leader in India is doing all it can to maintain its share of > 40% in the face of fierce competition from globally bigger brands. Having cleared the huge pent-up demand for the new Swift twins, their numbers are slowly settling down to a more natural range. Good to see the Ritz inching towards the 6k mark. This Suzuki tall boy is a great car but grossly under-rated. I think it's time to retire the 800, Alto, Alto k10 and the Estilo and replace them with the new Alto 800 and its k10 sibling. How about LPG versions of the Eeco as well as an LXi variant (with PS, i-CATS, coloured bumpers, power windows etc.), MSIL? It would be a huge boon to small entrepreneurs as a dual-purpose vehicle.

> Hyundai: Another solid performance from the only other manufacturer to have a double digit market share. As has already been pointed out, i20 sales reflect the growing maturity of the market. The i10 badly needs a diesel - Hyundai must hurry up with their plans to establish a diesel engine plant. HMIL's new baby (Eon) seems to be slowly winning over the hearts (and cheque-books) of consumers with its cool style, excellent interior quality and features. Hyundai seems to be setting the definition of value-for-money in the sub-million rupee segment. The workaholic boys from South Korea are more successful than most of their rivals from Japan, and they thoroughly deserve it. Well done and keep it up!

> Mahindra: It comes as a surprise to see this company settling itself on the podium, ahead of Tata. The old warhorse Bolero with its World War II Jeep underpinnings seems to be the darling of rural India as well as government departments (certainly here, in TN). The upcoming Renault Duster, Ford Ecosport and Suzuki XA-α should provide some much needed competition and end Mahindra's free run (at least in the urban landscape).

> Tata: How the mighty have fallen! For a company that was the number 2 not so long ago, not only do they fail to finish on the podium, but are in danger of being pushed further down by a fast rising Toyota. They are solely responsible for their own plight. Having gone through the heartburn associated with owning two Indicas, I now advise anyone who asks me about the pain and suffering that come as standard features with Tata cars. I'll shed not a single tear for the rapid decline of this company, for they made us shed enough tears (and hard-earned rupee notes) with their sub-standard quality and by treating customers (even loyalists and fanboys) like dirt. I'm sorry Mr. Ratan Tata, you may be a visionary and a role model, but as a company Tata Motors is the best example for "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip".

> Toyota: They would have been on the podium now had they not cut costs so much on the Etios twins. Many customers are instantly drawn to the Japanese T, thanks to their hard-earned reputation of rock-solid reliability and peace of mind that comes with owning a Toyota, but they are immediately put off by the amount of cost-cutting that has gone into the Etios twins. It almost seems as if the "made-for-India/the Third World" Etios/Liva and a "proper Toyota" like the Corolla that share showroom space are made by two different manufacturers. It's still not too late to make amends, though. The Etios twins are very capable cars with good fundamentals. They just need to release quick face-lifts of their sub-million rupee models with much better interior quality and include all the shocking omissions such as windshield and roof beadings, rubber linings on the doors, insulation under the body, hood, in the boot area, the second reverse lamp, etc. Also offer most of these as free additions to existing customers as a goodwill gesture. All said and done, I'm betting on Toyota occupying the third podium spot in the not-too-distant future, and staying there for a long time.

> Others: The American rivals Chevy and Ford are battling it out in our market as well. Chevy's upcoming model shake-up and introduction of SAIC products should help them pull clear until Ford can strike back with the Ecosport and possibly, the Fiesta hatch. The German VAG companies have had a good run in June. The same cannot be said of the unfortunate Honda and Fiat. Some clever badge engineering, the fantastic and versatile K9K engine, good quality, upcoming Duster and Evalia/NV200 launches should do a world of good for the Renault-Nissan alliance in the long run, pushing them up in the sales charts. As far as Mitsubishi are concerned, the sooner they terminate their partnership with the mediaeval licence-raj relic called HM and go it alone, the better it would be for them and for everyone.

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by carboy

Wagon CNG - is it open loop, closed loop or sequential? Also does this get fitted in the factory or does it get sent out to one of the CNG installers for installation? Also what's the cost difference between a CNG and non-CNG model?

I am no expert on CNG, but it is sequential, factory fitted. The onroad price in Pune for CNG edition is 4.6 lacs after discounts (no exchange involved).
You can get the pricing for other variants from carwale or from Maruti.
Here is a thread where you should ask your questions:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchb...cng-car-2.html

[amateurpro]

The marketers and the Indian customers are passionate about automobiles. So the current slump in demand would be temporary and should correct soon. Once the macroeconomic factors improve, the auto industry would be in overdrive mode. How soon would that happen is anybody's guess.

Anyways, June had been a good month for Nissan, Skoda, Mahindra & to some extent Suzuki.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by shadows123

This is because, as mentioned before, Dealers are stuffed to the brim with inventories which arent selling. So they have stopped supplying them with more new ones.

Ya that's right! I'd forgotten that the numbers on the thread reflect dispatches from the manufacturer's end. No wonder they're down then. Will be sometime before the Honda's regain their long lost position.

[ram_hyundai]

How did sunny fair against the city,It was second to city last month.There was a mention that sunny crossed 3000 nos so what was city figure?

[SLK]

Optra seems to have gone! I guess Chevy wasn't making much profit by selling it at that price. Optra was at least doing better than Honda Civic! and the 200 odd cars wasn't too bad for that it either! As far as I know, they don't have a replacement for it either, don't know the reason behind the decision, though it seems to have happened concurrently with new Cruze coming in and not using the previous engine which was exact same as Optra's.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by SLK

Optra seems to have gone! I guess Chevy wasn't making much profit by selling it at that price. Optra was at least doing better than Honda Civic! and the 200 odd cars wasn't too bad for that it either! As far as I know, they don't have a replacement for it.

Cruze is indeed the replacement of Optra internationally. Just that in India, they were selling both cars side by side.

[a4anurag]

High Petrol prices have killed the sales of all petrol powered cars but surprising to see the WagonR selling an average of 10K per month. Nice to see a hike in number of the Ritz. People are may be going with it because of the waiting period of the swift. Tata Aria seems to be a flop with a steep decrease in sales.

[kallil]

The poor numbers from Honda is due to the overflowing inventories at dealerships from the 10300 vehicles they dispatched in May.The zig zag pattern of sales over the last 4-5 months confirm that.Poor sales panning from Honda!!!
The 'stand outs' from this month:
1.Verito doing 444 indicates that something is cooking at M&M.Maybe the facelift is due sooner than we expected. nothing else can explain why this very capable car is doing so poorly esp. when petrol prices have gone through the roof.
2.Ertiga seems to have knocked the wind out of the Tavera-1200 units down,for the second straight month.interesting to see where Maruti got the remaining 4000 customers from-swift/Dzire/xylo/SX4?? even the sumo nos have gone down by 1000 units since the Ertiga launch.
3.D1 seg sales going down-what abt the D2 segment???remove Fortuner and what is left are bread crumbs!!
4.The over engineered and 'not so VFM' VW products clocking in poor numbers again.no surprises there.
5.Tata is trying too much to do nothing- in a total mess and they need something big to change their fortunes- a glitch free/properly positioned nano diesel will do great for starters.
6.Nissan doing great numbers for the kind of sales and service network they have now. Japanese again!!
7.The 6L to 10L MUV/SUV segment really hotting up...Ertiga,Duster,Chevy spin,Ecosport,new scorpio.

[Deep Blue]

Figo showing a gradual decline in numbers. From 6000s in Jan 12 to 4000s in June 12. i20 and Beat seems to be the gainers here. It is time Ford bought in some refresh and hopefuly add some jazz to the dated looks. I hope limited editions are still sometime away!