[GTO]

NOTES:

1: Only cars that sell 500+ units (and thus, the relevant ones) have been included in the gainers & losers chart.

2: A big shout-out to parrys for preparing these beautiful charts & graphs!

[GTO]

Movers & Shakers

It seems that even the holiday season can’t bring respite to car manufacturers in India. There’s no escaping the lazy market, no. Whopping year end discounts did little to December’s overall volumes which were at their lowest point in the entire of 2012 (excluding August and the labour unrest @ Maruti). Unfortunately, things are expected to stay this way for a while.

Remember, December is also the month where dealers are resistant to inventories piling up. After all, few customers want to buy a 2012 build car in 2013.

The market’s fascination with SUVs & MUVs knows no bounds in India. UVs now sell 50% more than sedans, and match exactly 50% of hatchback sales. This is really the big story of 2012.

A conservative approach works best when working with the masses. Just look at how Maruti hit the bull’s eye with the new Alto. In a sluggish month, this entry-level hatch managed 26,000 shipments! If & when the Alto gets a small diesel, that’s what the environmentalists & traffic planners ought to worry about (instead of the Nano). Not much has changed with the blockbuster performance of the Swift & Dzire, though the Ertiga sees a 30% drop in dispatches. The WagonR has an extremely sharp fall to 1/3rd of its usual levels. It’s probably due to the shifting of production to the marginally updated model that’s hitting showrooms. Maruti’s petrol-only portfolio (Omni, Eeco etc.) is at an all time low.

The snazzy new Elantra reigns over the D1 sedan segment, albeit at a noticeably lower level of 400+ units. The Eon & i10 keep the delivery trucks busy, but the Verna has a sharp drop to 2.4K, as does the i20 from its usual 7K mark. In only its 3rd quarter since launch, the Hyundai Sonata is now an accepted dud. With a tally of 26,000 odd cars, December is the worst month of the year for Hyundai.

Mahindra only has the Scorpio’s lethargic performance to show for a damp season. Every other UV has performed rather well! The baby Xylo (Quanto) looks all set to cross the 3,000 mark shortly, something the Xylo couldn’t ever manage. The XUV500 outsells the entire D segment and even the cheaper Scorpio, while there’s no stopping the Bolero from taking over rural India. Must say that ~200 shipments isn’t a bad number for a relatively unknown Ssangyong. The niche Thar has settled at the 600 – 700 mark, outselling the petrol Gypsy THREE times over. Verito continues its freefall and will become a 3-digit dud again.

Karl Slym has his work cut out. After losing the no.3 spot to Mahindra, Tata must fear losing the no. 4 position to Toyota (only 2,000 cars behind). Merely 14,000 units is absolutely disastrous for our homegrown brand. It’s the Indica & Indigo siblings that bring some volumes home, but they are suffering from a sub-par run as well. There was a plant shutdown for about 5 days in December. I suspect it was to do with controlling inventory. The Nano & Aria, at completely opposite ends of the market, are finding no buyers & that’s the hard truth. On the positive side, the Safari & Storme have a good month.

The Innova blasts past the 6,000 mark for the first time in 4 months, while the Fortuner remains absolutely unflappable in the 20 lakh segment. Toyota hatchbacks & sedans are clearly puffing for breath. The Liva, Etios & Corolla have a dark gloomy X’mas.

If anyone needed to lose the flab, it’s Chevrolet. Thankfully, the Aveo, UVA & Optra no longer waste its time. The Beat, Tavera & Cruze have a decent December. However, the new Sail UVA is finding it difficult to gain traction in the brutally competitive B segment. The Spark has lost out and simply isn’t able to put up a fight to Hyundai & Maruti in the A-segment.

Not much has changed at Ford, except for the Endeavour & Fiesta Classic enjoying a large bump on their regular sales levels.

The Duster - Team-BHP’s Car of the Year 2012 – is Renault’s star performer. To understand the Duster’s importance to Renault, get this : The SUV outsells all other Renault-Nissan products combined. Sure, the Scala is seeing a slow & steady climb since the time of its launch. Question is : Can Renault evolve beyond being a one-trick pony? Can it make the Pulse or Scala volume generators?

Still a damp period at VW with a final tally of 4.5K cars. Not much to write home about. Relative to its segment, only the Jetta is doing reasonably well from the VW stable.

Quite the same story @ Honda too, with the entire portfolio of cars (including the City) underperforming. Boy, they must be waiting for that 1.5L diesel with bated breath. The Accord is the sole Honda to bring in the New Year with a cheerful spirit. Sure, the year-on-year numbers are better. But that’s like celebrating a rock over a hard place.

The Rapid & Superb put up a good end-of-the-year show. In fact, the Rapid is a mere 85 units shy of the Vento. The two help Skoda nudge ahead of Nissan…only just.

Can someone explain to me what’s the deal with the Evalia? Here is a people mover expected to bring customers by the droves to Nissan showrooms. Not even 200 units, my goodness! Strike the iron while it’s hot, Nissan. And yes, keep your dealerships happy too. Things aren’t so sunny for Nissan’s C segment sedan either. It’s as if the brand is having an extended winter holiday. Yawn.

I’d love to be a part of HM-Mitsubishi’s marketing meets, seriously! Can’t even imagine what the agenda is, when FOUR of their products sell either z-i-l-c-h or all of 1 unit. Their best selling product is also the oldest car in the market, while the second best costs a whopping 25 lakh rupees! What kind of strategy works here???

Fiat comes in last…the formula for success remains elusive to the Italians. Well, they’re still the No.1 engine supplier in India.

[GTO]

[GTO]

[GTO]

[GTO]

The Petrol : Diesel Split:

We managed to get our hands on the petrol:diesel split for some cars.

HM
Ambassador 41 : 231

Nissan
Micra 154 : 562
Sunny 116 : 1401

Skoda
Fabia 36 : 183
Rapid 199 : 1691
Superb 77 : 122

Toyota
Innova 1 : 6457
Corolla 70 : 85
Etios 345 : 1812
Liva 246 : 1764

[akhilesh51]

Huge disappointment for Auto Industry. Even Maruti with a lion's share of market is losing numbers rapidly.

And, Tata O' Tata, when art thou going to stop this humpty dumpty free fall. Toyota is on your heels like Mahindra was few months back and it will be no wonder if they overtake you in few months looking at curent trend.

[Sunilrj]

Finally the Most awaited Thread on T-Bhp! Wonderful Statistics.

Nissan Evalia. The Much Touted People Mover doesnt seem to be Moving well. Yet to see one in Mangalore yet!

Sunny seems to be losing its Sun-Shine. The Caaar Sales slowing down a Little.

Skoda Seems to have struck a goldmine with the Rapid this month, Partly due to the Anniversary offer

Yeti Stuck on 51 Numbers for a consecutive Month. Service Seems to be a Major concern for Skoda as of now, as Half the Number of Satisfied Customers at the time Delivery and Purchase become dissatisfied when they come out of service!

Duster also feeling a small Pinch. however given the Duster QC issues cropping up, unless Renault Gets its act together soon, it may go the Fiat Way. The Sales Staff at Renault Dealerships have also started getting arrogant (this was the situation a few years ago at Honda)

[Omtoatom]

Thanks GTO and parrys. Timely, accurate, astute and discerning as usual.

Wow, just no respite for our car manufacturers, is there? The gloom is relentless.

As you've superbly put it "fascination with SUVs & MUVs knows no bounds in India."

Just to demonstrate real quick, I counted no less than 5 of the top 10 gainers of December being SUVs and MUVs. In fact they comfortably take slots #3 through #7 on that list. If there isn't a trend there, I don't know where it is.

Only reason the Ertiga finds itself in the top losers list is because it dropped itself from the 7K mark to to the 5K mark!

P.S. the marketing position at Mitsubishi has got to be either the best job in the world or the worst one!

[fiat_tarun]

As expected, a slow month once again for the auto industry. December though is a slow month with OEM's restricting dispatches. The new Alto is chugging along really well, though personally I don't like the styling at all.

The Evalia will probably pick up, though I only see tour operators buy this vehicle. A private buyer will be put off by the van like styling. Saw a line of new Evalia's outside the KK Travels office here in Pune the other day.

Bolero sales continue to amaze me & from my visits to Mahindra I know it amazes them too ! Everyone wonders where so many Bolero's are going !! I hear an all new Bolero is under development and should launch sometime next year. That should be something to look forward to.

The Figo is keeping Ford going, and the much awaited Ecosport will definitely give Ford they big boost they are looking for.

Fiat will continue like this till March atleast till their showrooms and the refreshes for the Punto & Linea launch.

The Duster sales have dropped a little, but must wait and see if this trend continues. I have come across a lot of people saying Renault is pushing the 110PS Duster by quoting huge waiting periods for the 85PS. I recently drove the Duster from Goa to Pune and I loved it on the highway. In the city / town though, I found the clutch very hard that it gets quite irritating in bumper to bumper traffic.

GM really messed up with the conservative styling for the Sail. Me thinks that is the only reason that people aren't considering the car.

Also interesting to note that Hyundai has sold exactly 20 units of the Sonata every month from Sept. to Dec. !!

[Dr.Abhi]

Some manufacturers dont have any efforts in their Indian operations eg. Mitsubishi
and some are burning their midnight oil without any results, eg. Tata. Their each and every product is like Dumbstruck, wharever they do. Aria=5 units, it really deserves far better.
On a lighter note, it seems Fiat has cast its dark shadow on Tata's operation
Poor Tata and Fiat, both realiy deserves far better.

[mayankjha1806]

Lovely thread, i love the writeup GTO, we missed it last time, this time its back with a bang.

Fortuner and Innova numbers do baffle me, i can now understand why they can get away by doing advt inserts publicizing discounts and in the same breadth (on the same page) threatening to raise prices in the new year.

Tata must have got some answers to the puzzle, Safari and Storme doing better than regular show should have taught them something. If they put out a good quality VFM product in the market there will be takers, although Storme is yet to prove its presence, but i must add it seems to be more Ready-For-Market product from Tata.

[dZired]

Nothing better can be expected from the last month of an already low year. The only disappointment I have is from the Tata stable. I really dont understand the reason behind failure of such good concepts like nano and aria. IMO this is not failure of the products but that of the stable. Tata has completely failed to capitalize on its wonderful ideas.

OT: GTO hats off to your writing style man. I was literally clapping after reading some lines (like "i10 kept the delivery trucks busy"). How do you think of all these lines? I really wish to write like you one day.

[volkman10]

Overall a disastrous month for most Auto manufactures.

Toyota after announcing no new products for India in the next three years, should reconsider this as their market share in Hatchbacks and Sedans are slipping.

Would be interesting to watch the market responses to the new launches of 2013.

Cheers!

[KL01BE]

If you look at the C2 segment Sedans only, Honda City seems to be doing pretty well with City being available only in Petrol. All other C2 segment sedans have both petrol and diesel models. The figures go thus: Vento - 1975, Rapid-1890, SX4 - 329, Verna -2404, Linea - 103, Fiesta new - 214, Optra - 1 and Honda City managing a decent 1442.