[Mpower]

First off, great topic Rangaraj !!

I too am pleasantly surprised with the Laura's success. But, can you imagine what would have happened if Laura was priced at 12-13 lakhs? (regular manual)They would have had a 2 year waiting list.

Frankly its that good a car that it sells even though its overpriced. But, not for me. I think we are going for a Civic instead. So, Skoda already lost me as a customer.

As far as Bhp-ians, they are well informed about the international market and know where the Laura comes from and what its really worth. But I have to admit that very few shop in the 15+ lakh bracket and are capable of understanding that customer. At the end of the day, its Skoda marketing laughing all the way to the bank. The luxury market is all about the flavour of the month and that probably explains why the Laura is whipping the accord in sales at the moment. Luxury buyers are looking exclusivity, not A-B transportation.(same reason we are rejecting the Octy and waiting for Civic)

As far as lack of diesel competetion, keep in mind the Mondeo Tdci sold for similar money and it was also a well rounded, nice, solid full D-size European design. The Laura, well she's not quite a D, more like in between a C and a D. (ps: I am not talking about women..... you perverts!!)

Now coming to FE, again I am surprised. For years and years the car magagines have been dishing out the same logic. Why would a guy who pays 20 lakhs for a car care about FE?

But after hearing from guys like Boom and Insane Devil and other luxury buyers, I have concluded that good FE is a virtue that everybody looks for in today's oil starved world. One of my uncles whos really loaded owns an Octy Tdi and could'nt care less about fuel bills. But he proudly says that his car gets 14-17 kpl. Damn.........these rich folks are stingy arent they !!!

[jat]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

...if Ferrari were to start selling in India, they would need a diesel option too.

Most probably, it will be CNG

[veyron1]

Hmmm..to begin with, ALL predictions need not necessarily be correct. At t-bhp, we reflect the "aam junta", which could explain us being right about the sales figures of the Baleno and the City, or about the Swift being the "universal" Car Of The Year. Still, Laura's fall was predicted by EVERY auto mag, and yet, here we are. Skoda's clever, but the day shall dawn when most of the 'D' segment+ buyers will have access to t-bhp, and sense shall prevail.

The Laura still seems like an outrage; at least to me. Hey, one's entitled to personal opinions now, ain't it? Just wait for two years, and let's see where Skoda stands with its "Laura" , after the launch of the Honda Accord i-CTDi or the Camry diesel, and such. Then, we'll see. And yeah, what do you think is going to happen to the resale values of the used Laura's (yeah, yeah...lose those smirks...I know)..?

[amit]

We should not give credit to Skoda management or marketing for making the Laura a success. I don't think the Europeans are that smart enough. Skoda decided to sell the Octavia and Laura together because this is what they do all over the world.

[nitrous]

I want to bring the attention the reaction of all of our reactions (including me, though they were a few who went against the tide of major thought process) on a prediction: Success/Failure of the Laura..

Thoughts of enthusiasts always differ from a common man.Period!

[aseem]

Let the initial hype of Laura die down, let the dust settle, thats when we will really know. At the present time, the diesel economy and class leading safety features are drawing too many folks to this car. However with Sonata and Accord Deisel on their way, and Civic heading to our shores, I am certain that Laura wont be able to sustain or justify such outrageous pricing.
But if Honda can do it for City (77bhp), and still sell as hotcakes, than I guess so can Skoda. Frankly speaking, untill we have more competition, there will always be some overpriced cars that we would be forced to buy, as there wont be any competing product that fits the bill.

[rangaraj]

I have always been curious to try and figure out why the Honda CRV's outsell the Tuscon. If you look at the same trend of diesel and FE being an important consideration (provided the features are comparable), you ought to see a lot more tuscon's on the road than the CRV.

This is opposite of the trend of laura's (in the same price band) outselling the Honda Accord, though the accord has better brand value, true D segment space, decent performance though the features are not on par with the Laura.

Cannot seem to find a buying pattern!!!

[rangaraj]

So, if one were to look at the this year window for releases (diesel powered) it seems like the following are expected in the 14-20L bracket..

1. Honda Accord Diesel version - to respond to Laura taking away market share
2. Huyndai - A diesel engine for the embera
3. Honda - A diesel CRV??
4. Toyota - i guess the RAV4/Fortuner is expected only next year
5. Ford - the enhanced power (146bhp) endeavour
6. Suzuki - nothing
7. VW - nothing
8. Mitsubishi - An SUV in this bracket?
9. Pugeot - ????
10. Mahindra - a Larger variant of the scorpio seems logical???
11. Tatas - nothing
12. Mercedes/BMW - Nothing
13. Nissan - ????

[navin]

I suspect the CRV outsells the Tuscon becuase people prefer Honda to Hyundai at the same price (same for Sonata v/s Accord).

I also suspect that most who bought the Laura bought the technology and solidness not the FE. If the Laura was powered by the 1.8Tpi Rider/RS engine it would still have sold the same.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by rangaraj

I have always been curious to try and figure out why the Honda CRV's outsell the Tuscon. ...............................

Cannot seem to find a buying pattern!!!

1: Ask yourself - why did Toyota create Lexus ?

2: Latest is best mentality

[LandCruiser]

It is surprising that the biggest manufacturer in indian Maruti has not made any efforts to launch diesel vechicles particularly in the small segment. Shame!

[BUSA]

One of my friends asked me which car Automatic car to buy. Her father wanted to buy one. I told her about Laura, Accord, etc. She asked me which is the best. I told her Laura is a DSG wheras the Accord is more powerful V6 but it drinks like crazy. Accord V6 gives arouind 5-6kmpl. She didnot even recommend her father about the Accord due to that and in comes the Laura. The problem with the accord is that it lacks many features and just has a gem of a engine, for everything else its the OVERPRICED Laura. When most of the D segment buys cars to be driven it they dont mind a noisy diesel plainly because they have to sit in the back seat. Butttttttt how do they forget that Hondas cheap spares compared to the Skoda. Also look at it this way, Hondas automatic Accord is no way closer to the Skodas DSG and thats half the battle won. The Laura is a fresher car then the Accord let the new Accord with Manual V6 come and boy thats going to be fun.

I hate the name Laura itself so there is no question of me buying a Laura infront of the Acccord. Period.

[amit mohan]

maruti is making a totally new diesel plant in gurgaon. It should be ready by this year end. They are going to blast the pants of everyone in the diesel segment. They will become the single largest maker of diesel engines in India.

bye.

[drifter]

Style sells!!! Tucson doesnt do well against the CRV because CRV is a honda and because hyundai somehow end up with quirky designs.

Same goes for the Embera, it looks too similar to the accord. People would rather go for the real thing.

And hyundai made the mistake of launching it as a petrol model.
They should have launched the diesel variant first...and after the success of the accent crdi, this should have been the first thing on their mind.

Diesel rules in this country no matter what price band. If im not mistaken even the C-Klasse CDI from mercedes does better numbers than the Kompressor model.

The success of the laura isnt too surprising for me. Skoda made a name for itself with the octavia 1.9tdi. In the mind of the public, skoda is synonymous with good frugal diesel engines.
Skoda took advantage of that and launched the laura with a diesel engine. And look its selling.
Skoda tried (and failed) with a different strategy with the superb by launching a petrol engine and pricing it so that it would compete with the three-pointed star. If that car was launched with a diesel engine to begin with and had been priced at sub-20lakh level...you and i would see a lot more superbs on the road.

As far as the understanding of the market goes, i wouldnt call it a failure, but we enthusiasts know what tricks the manufacturer is trying to pull.
They (the manufacturers) get away only because of the gullible Indian customer.

Drifter

[BUSA]

Skoda tried (and failed) with a different strategy with the superb by launching a petrol engine and pricing it so that it would compete with the three-pointed star. If that car was launched with a diesel engine to begin with and had been priced at sub-20lakh level...you and i would see a lot more superbs on the road.

Spot on drifter. No wonder nowadayz i can see too many superbs on the road. I guess the Skoda trick is working with that V6 TDi and reduced pricing.

Have dipatched a letter to Skoda. Lets see what they have to say regarding ......

Dear Sir,
I have a budget of around 20 Lacs and wish yo buy a D segment car. However i was not impressed about the Laura becuase of its noise and poor pickup. I am waiting for the New Accord butttt wouldnot mind buying a Laura if it comes in a petrol version.
When is the 2.0L FSI petrol expected or should i go in for the 3.0L V6 Accord.
Thanking you,

P.S