The biggest surprise/ shock for me after reading this month sales figures - the number of petrol HM Ambassador cars sold! It makes us wonder who would buy 260 Ambassador cars in a month - in this modern market, but yes - that could be attributed to government offices and taxi sales. But 77 petrol Ambassadors? Where do they go?
Another
pleasant surprise has been the sales for petrol Superb. But - not really a surprise considering the VFM that the package offers, along with a mouth-watering starting pricetag. One of the very rare cases where the petrol model outsold the diesel variant in the Indian market.
The sudden rise in the sales figures for Kizashi shows what a mess Maruti made of the one oppurtunity they had to crack the higher end segment. This car, built in India with a price tag that could compete with a Civic would have been well received by the market. Instead - they choose the CBU route (Not even CKD) and chose to minimize the risk.
IMO - Maruti expected the car to fail and played the game accordingly, with minimal investments and risk.
Totally wasted oppurtunity! However - they have shown us previously how good they are at repackaging the same car to a best-seller. Hope Maruti takes these sales as a good sign and work on assembling the car in India.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO Hyundai just can’t shake off the Sonata jinx. |
Sorry, but what Sonata Jinx? A big sedan is bought by 3 kinds of people IMO- the chaffeur driven, people with minimal running but wanting a prestige car and the enthusiasts. Without a diesel option, and with a backseat that is strictly optimised for two people- it doesn't make sense to the first category, the hyundai badge doesn't appeal to the second list of people. The lacklustre performance for such a high-spec engine along with poor dynamics wont make it appealing to the third lot. Infact - I feel they made the same mistake with the Sonata that Maruti did with the Kizashi.
They expected the model to be a failure and tried to play with minimal risk! No gain without pain?
Really surprised with the numbers Scopio has been managing for the past few months.
I expected XUV 5OO to eat into Scorpio sales too, but both these cars seem to be climbing higher grounds each month. Afterall - there is not much of a difference between VLX and W6 variants of these cars, but the XUV5OO is a step ahead in every direction! I really wonder how Mahindra has managed to pull this one off!
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO while the talented Manza just isn’t able to capture the customer’s mind or heart. |
Another point i would like to bring to your attention here. I guess anyone would agree that
Manza has been enjoying the reputation of being the most niggle-free car from the TATA stable. It remains to be seen if it can retain the same build/ quality as now as the production has been shifted from FIATs Ranjangoan plant to TATAs own plant (I guess Pimpri?).
@GTO: Although its too early to comment on the
SAIL, i would also say that 1500 in the second month of launch can predict a lot about the future of this model! Product teams have done their job well? Please!
The car easily feels the most dated choice in the market now, that too in the second month of its launch. Dont believe me? Just google images for small cars in the indian market, and view the sail at the last. The saving grace for the product is space & the diesel option - but i really doubt if it would be enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO VW’s overall volumes fall much short of the group’s expectations. Must be quite a pressure cooker situation at the BKC office. Competition is making things tough and there isn’t a “blockbuster” launch from VW for a long time now. |
Pressure cooker situation at VW? They dont even seem to care much about the market!
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ll-2015-a.html Quote:
Originally Posted by volkman10 Fiat's startegy is alarming, it only shows how serious they are about this market. |
Quite an easy dig at FIAT. And with good reason too, i agree.
I feel really sorry for FIAT, and being a new FIAT car owner, I wonder what will be the future of the brand + my ownership! I hope they can somehow survive till 2014 when they plan the full assault of models with their new dealership arrangement in place.
But again - what intrigues me -
FIAT must be showing some future roadpath to these dealers who are inesting money in new dealerships. Afterall - would you spent crores setting up dealership for a company selling only 270 small cars a month? I'm sure FIAT is sharing some info with them - something that makes them feel the investment is going to be worth it, in the near future. Hope we also get to know what they dealers have been told regarding this! I guess Panda and Viaggio - along with the JEEP portfolio will be part of FIATs future roadmap.
There is a press conference scheduled on December 6th to announce the entry of JEEP in India, along with future products for FIAT and Chrysler in India.