[Loud]

The Maruti Swift DZire breaks the Alto's record of the best selling car in India.



Also have a look at the May 2013 Sales Chart here.

Here is T-BHP Official Report of the DZire: Maruti Dzire : Test Drive & Review

[MODS: Please merge the thread if topic already exists.]

[Samba]

Feels good that a much costlier car than Alto is the highest selling car this month. This means the economy of Indian people are also improving and people are becoming much more passionate about cars. Rather than buying a basic car to travel from point A to B now everyone is looking beyond that and are looking towards the other aspects of cars like better engine and comfort too. And last but not the least hats off to Maruti for being the undisputed leader in this segment.

[shreyan_k10]

The rising petrol prices have played the game here in my opinion. The Dzire is one of the most economical cars on sale in India overall and has a marginal price difference with the other Maruti diesel hatches.

[Loud]

Originally Posted by Samba

Feels good that a much costlier car than Alto is the highest selling car this month. This means the economy of Indian people are also improving and people are becoming much more passionate about cars. Rather than buying a basic car to travel from point A to B now everyone is looking beyond that and are looking towards the other aspects of cars like better engine and comfort too. And last but not the least hats off to Maruti for being the undisputed leader in this segment.

Yes, Samba. People are asking for much more features and have added many more criteria while buying cars. Plus, they are willing to spend their hard earned money on their cars. What I think is that reliability and mileage has played an important role here. Both Alto and DZire deliver astounding mileage figures, plus both come from house of Maruti. I have seen many Swift buyers going in for DZire who do occasional trips, have children/family, need their car with a less waiting period. One funny reason that one buyer gave me for going in for DZire was 'There are too many Swifts on the road', which I felt extremely lame!

Originally Posted by shreyan_k10

The rising petrol prices have played the game here in my opinion. The Dzire is one of the most economical cars on sale in India overall and has a marginal price difference with the other Maruti diesel hatches.

True. The common diesel hatchback from Maruti, i.e. Swift V and the DZire V variant have approx. 60k price difference. The DZire comes with all the features of the Swift (turn indicators on ORVMs, etc.), a better interior colour theme, better rear seat space and comfort, a considerably bigger boot, Music system, etc.

[bluevolt]

I think it's because of the attractive pricing of the base petrol variant LXi which comes out to be just around 4.90 lacs ex showroom, many people extend their budgets and get hold of a car which is higher in segment, has boot and gives a big car feeling. Diesel variant prices are also quite competitive.

[Loud]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

I think it's because of the attractive pricing of the base petrol variant LXi which comes out to be just around 4.90 lacs ex showroom, many people extend their budgets and get hold of a car which is higher in segment, has boot and gives a big car feeling. Diesel variant prices are also quite competitive.

Well, I don't feel so.
The L variants of the Dzire, both in petrol and diesel, hardly come with any features. If this would have been the case, people would have opted for Amaze E variants which comes with all 4 power windows and ABS (for diesel) at 6. xx lacs. Compare this with a Dzire LDi. I have seen people opting for Dzire V variants, who earlier think of getting Swift V variant, for a mere 60k.

Sorry if Off Topic.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by Loud

Well, I don't feel so.
The L variants of the Dzire, both in petrol and diesel, hardly come with any features. If this would have been the case, people would have opted for Amaze E variants which comes with all 4 power windows and ABS (for diesel) at 6. xx lacs. Compare this with a Dzire LDi. I have seen people opting for Dzire V variants, who earlier think of getting Swift V variant, for a mere 60k.

Sorry if Off Topic.

Between Dzire and Amaze, I would any day choose Dzire. New dzire looks much better than Amaze. Amaze and Brio's dash board is a joke. Dzire's taut door panels look much better ( shades of Porsche carrera's doors here ) than double creased doors of Amaze. I am a Honda fan but not Brio/Amaze fan at all. Similarly, I like Toyota cars but not Liva/Etios. Somehow, I feel in their rush to beat Maruti, Honda/Toyota churned out cars which are neither here nor there.

[MHG]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Between Dzire and Amaze, I would any day choose Dzire. New dzire looks much better than Amaze. Amaze and Brio's dash board is a joke. Dzire's taut door panels look much better ( shades of Porsche carrera's doors here ) than double creased doors of Amaze. I am a Honda fan but not Brio/Amaze fan at all. Similarly, I like Toyota cars but not Liva/Etios. Somehow, I feel in their rush to beat Maruti, Honda/Toyota churned out cars which are neither here nor there.

Just to reply to this, IMO Brio/Amaze and Liva/Etios are actually similar to Maruti Suzuki's Ritz. Ugly as can possibly be (although Liva/Etios looks manageably smart in black exterior with colombo tan interiors) but too practical+VFM to ignore versus the competition.

[bogusgenius]

The other way of looking at it is, the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. Less number of people are moving up from owning two wheelers to cars, but more number of people who already own a car are upgrading to the higher segments. Growth is not growth if it is not evenly distributed. Analysing the market distribution in the developed economies will give us the answer. Their entry point segments may be different(few segments higher), but I suspect the distribution will be, inverse exponential, going from cheaper to more expensive.

[arjab]

The success of the Dzire is not to be sneered at. These numbers represent serious monthly volumes and for the Dzire to trounce the Alto does not mean that the ALTO is a dud - but that the Dzire market - that is the "B-Sedan" is growing - with customer's in this segment displaying a more "price inelastic behaviour".
Almost 70-75% of Dzire buyers are not first time car buyers - they typically trade in their existing hatch and opt for the Maruti "Sedan-let" . On a conservative note , the average Dzire financing works out to around 4.2 - 4.5 lacs which would mean a rough monthly EMI outgo of around 10-10,500 rupees (on a 5-year term) - slightly higher than the average hatch but still affordable to a large section of the car buying populace - especially if it is a dual income family.

Add to that the fact that the Dzire carries a respectable logo from our country's most popular OEM, has the option of Diesel and Petrol and Automatic, has fairly good interior space & refinement and moderately sized boot space to stash in a couple/triple soft bags, has a quasi-saloon silhouette and it is easy to see why this "Dobermann-Tailed" Maruti is such a hit.
In fact, Indians always preferred value - for - money saloons if it was available and this is no exception.
From the days of the erstwhile Maruti 1000/Esteem to now - the days of the Honda Amaze / Maruti Dzire , the small saloon market has remained steady, in fact the market has expanded and will continue to do so.

I feel this small saloon segment is the best kept secret in the coming months. With Tata, Hyundai et al, all planning an assault in this segment, it will be interesting to see who occupies the top 3 positions of the small saloon podium in the month's ahead.

[aroop]

I wouldn't term it as a success of dzire, but a steeper fall of the alto. YoY, Alto has fallen 20.8%, while Dzire has seen a fall of merely 2.5%. (source http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-analysis.html)

As arjab and others have pointed out, this is due to the market conditions hitting the A segment more than the C1. Inflation, recession and rising fuel prices have resulted in lower disposable income, and this has caused entry level buyers to postpone their purchase.

If the trend continues, it is a sign of grave economic disparity in the country. We can never say that people have 'stopped' buying Altos and are preferring Dzires, since the car penetration in India is quite low.

[rajshenoy]

One of the reasons could be due to the low gap between Swift and Dzire due to sub-4m length and we feel that boot means a sedan and that big car feel.

Also Do we have the break up of Dzire vs Dzire tour that taxi segment seems to be opting for the airport rides ?

If i am not wrong, this is a cumulative figure of both old and new Dzire.

[Loud]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Between Dzire and Amaze, I would any day choose Dzire. New dzire looks much better than Amaze. Amaze and Brio's dash board is a joke. Dzire's taut door panels look much better ( shades of Porsche carrera's doors here ) than double creased doors of Amaze. I am a Honda fan but not Brio/Amaze fan at all. Similarly, I like Toyota cars but not Liva/Etios. Somehow, I feel in their rush to beat Maruti, Honda/Toyota churned out cars which are neither here nor there.

Only looks and feel are not the criteria for car purchase, there are many other priorities while buying a car; like space, features, etc. I agree DZire V is better VFM than Amaze S, but what about DZire L and Amaze E?

Originally Posted by MHG

Just to reply to this, IMO Brio/Amaze and Liva/Etios are actually similar to Maruti Suzuki's Ritz. Ugly as can possibly be (although Liva/Etios looks manageably smart in black exterior with colombo tan interiors) but too practical+VFM to ignore versus the competition.

+1.

Originally Posted by bogusgenius

The other way of looking at it is, the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. Less number of people are moving up from owning two wheelers to cars, but more number of people who already own a car are upgrading to the higher segments. Growth is not growth if it is not evenly distributed. Analysing the market distribution in the developed economies will give us the answer. Their entry point segments may be different(few segments higher), but I suspect the distribution will be, inverse exponential, going from cheaper to more expensive.

That's a strong and valid point you made.

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

One of the reasons could be due to the low gap between Swift and Dzire due to sub-4m length and we feel that boot means a sedan and that big car feel.

Also Do we have the break up of Dzire vs Dzire tour that taxi segment seems to be opting for the airport rides ?

If i am not wrong, this is a cumulative figure of both old and new Dzire.

Yes, the boot, no matter how small it is, gives a feeling of a 'SEDAN' or 'BIG CAR' than a hatchback, as it is considered. Plus, the Swift (placed close to DZire) is better suited to young drivers which is 'More Form Than Function' and is less practical than the DZire.
I feel the taxi segment will have much more DZire Tours than the normal DZire. If we think carefully, how many DZire Tours has one seen after the launch of New DZire in the Taxi markets? Most taxi drivers go for the efficient Indigo eCS or the spacious limo, the Etios! DZire is still not a strong contender in the taxi market.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by Loud

I feel the taxi segment will have much more DZire Tours than the normal DZire. If we think carefully, how many DZire Tours has one seen after the launch of New DZire in the Taxi markets? Most taxi drivers go for the efficient Indigo eCS or the spacious limo, the Etios! DZire is still not a strong contender in the taxi market.

I am only saying that the figures here talk about Dzire but there is no breakup of sub-4m Dzire and the Dzire tour. So trying to guess if this is a cumulative number.

I dont think any taxi guy will purchase the compact Dzire because it is overpriced to be a taxi. But I see plenty of Dzire tour doing duty as airport taxi.

[girishglg]

Somehow take in this bit of news cautiously rather than optimistically. Why-

The Dzire's growth IMO seems to be directly at the cost of Swift rather that other competitors. With some nifty features such as additional boot space and premium feel, it feels more VFM than the Swift.

Maruti better watch out for Swift as issues like poor brakes in lower variants and skimpy feature list has started to take a toll on its numbers and unless they buck up this brilliant package will lose steam forever.

For the Dzire, it is tough times ahead as well since there is a formidable challenger now in the name of Amaze, however the only consolation is that Honda cannot deliver the number of cars that the market need for many more months to come and here's where Maruti trumps with its massive capacity.