[terra85]

Mahindra needs to up the game, their XUV and Quanto are not performing as well as before , the XUV could be due to bad press for the bad electronics. The Quanto on the other hand should have done well it just shows how important looks are, if Mahindra come up with a short wheelbase Scorpio say two door like the erstwhile Tata Sierra, IMHO it should sell well.

[i74js]

Originally Posted by arunkrishnan4

I guess this is partly due to Santro. If you take Eon, i10, i10 grand and i20 together, there is a steady growth of 10-12% M-o-M (possibly at the cost of other makers). Throw Santro into the lot, the growth remains flat at 9%.

It seems that Hyundai can but it is not interested. Two possible changes and the growth figures can see an upward movement.

- Change the dashboard of Santro, it is the only dated one in the complete set of offerings from Hyundai (all models have great inside feel except Sentro)

- Replace / provide option of Sentro engine in Eon

I am sure this will be enough to provide two great options to the first time buyers

- A better looking true work-horse Santro (Family buying)
- A future ready Eon (Generation X or Y or Z - whatever you may wish to call it)

Cheers

[i74js]

Originally Posted by kiranknair

Again the most awaited thread of the month!! Superb analysis.

Surprised to see that Micra is the only car that is selling petrol variants much more than the diesel variants. Any reasons for the same?

I think the reason is due to Micra Active, the old version of the car in petrol only option which has been made available at less then INR 4.00 Lacs in the market.

This has resulted in a availability of a good looking car at a very reasonable price to the first time buyers. Since the Active trims are available in petrol only option, the ratio between petrol and diesel has shifted in favour of petrol (the facelift version of Micra is available as usual in petrol and diesel versions).

Cheers

[supremeBaleno]

Of the total Sep-13 sales of 90399 for Maruti, 72615 units come from just 4 cars. Add the other 2 cars (Eeco & Omni) that are in the top-20 and 81382 of the 90399 cars are accounted for.
Any time/effort/money spent on marketing most of the other cars in the lineup is just a waste of good money and maybe MSIL should discontinue the laggards in that list and work to bring in new replacements.

Ertiga-P selling more than Diesel variant was indeed a revelation. Looks like a combo effect of a good petrol engine + launch of the CNG variant.

[Tats07]

Originally Posted by avisidhu

And it seems all that hooplah around the eco boost engine hasn't had any impact: diesel is the clear choice when it comes to the Ecosport. Not very good news for turbo charged petrol hatchbacks some of us were expecting.

I don't think turbo petrol hatchbacks are going to be impacted if launched from others (such as Fiat). Ecoboost has two issues:

1. I really didn't think it was 'great-to-drive' vehicle. The turbo gives it's share of thrills, but some tell me that 1.2 GT TSI is much more fun to drive regardless of the lower power output.
2. Ecoboost waiting period is still hovering around 8-12 months.

[stringbh]

Thanks parrys for the report.

Maruti back in business, with alto crossing 20k. Grand i10 is a story in itself. Only Maruti and Hyundai seem to have mastered the art of mass market product + the strong dealership base they have in the country.

Any reason why VW enters the top losers category? may be nothing much to worry about just yet. Festive season should set things right. Is there a way to get the cross polo numbers ?

For Fiat, next couple of months should be interesting with the launch of classic.

[puchoo]

4 out of the 7 cars which Chevrolet have are in the negative , but nice to see the SAIL sisters fighting their way a bit and showing some good number for Chevrolet.

Fiat Linea up by 57% - not sure how much of this would be attributed to Classics being shipped out to dealers though , nevertheless they have gone from double to triple digits in a span of 6 months

Huge 1000 unit leap for the Eco-Sport , going strong but as if not more pleased to see the Amaze doing fantastic work for Honda. The city also goes back to average numbers post the slump last month

The Vibe seems to have stopped at the 500 unit range unfortunately , the expectations which Mahindra would have had from the car would have been much higher.

Dip in Laura ofcourse was expected , rapid continues to be stable.

[aniketi]

Great month for Maruti again. Doing 40% + business (almost 44%) year on year with so much competition is really tough. Full marks to them. Their top four cars look unstoppable. Majority business is coming from those 4 models only. Swift & Dzire are rock stars for them yet again. As i said few days back, ready availability of Swift & Dzire, both Patrol & Diesel, will make things difficult for others like i20, Amaze, Etios etc. When people gets ready delivery and some freebies, its great for people who where never used to this. Numbers of Figo, i20 just shows that. Swift has sold almost 17 K cars, that's great in IMO considering very tough competition in the segment it is where other cars like i20, Polo, Figo, Liva, UVA, Punto, Vista etc are there. Soon with new cars like there new upcoming sedan, new Astar i guess they will dream for 50% market share. Also they are planning to make small SUV as well. Great going IMO considering market conditions.

Tata is struggling as usual. They badly need new car. Not Indica or Indigo though. Something different, unique which will make sure they get new customers. German manufacturers are suffering like anything now. Both Skoda & VW are going down & down month by month. Only Polo is selling in numbers. Others are clearly loosing the battle, that too very fast.

Good to see Mahindra doing good numbers for XUV. With W4 they has a great chance again. Price it really low like 9.99 or 10.49 which will make Duster look costly and gains many customers. Xylo is struggling which is sad. Its a really very good car. Proper MUV & 7-8 seater.

[rajneeesh]

Originally Posted by Tats07

I don't think turbo petrol hatchbacks are going to be impacted if launched from others (such as Fiat). Ecoboost has two issues:

1. I really didn't think it was 'great-to-drive' vehicle. The turbo gives it's share of thrills, but some tell me that 1.2 GT TSI is much more fun to drive regardless of the lower power output.
2. Ecoboost waiting period is still hovering around 8-12 months.

Totally agree with you there. My brother in law comapred the two vehicles and settled for the Polo GT TSI. This 1200 cc mill is way better and a lot more alive. The delivery period quoted for it 3 months.

[vinukm]

Surprised that Ertiga petrol is selling more than the diesel Variant.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Tats07

I don't think turbo petrol hatchbacks are going to be impacted if launched from others (such as Fiat). Ecoboost has two issues:

1. I really didn't think it was 'great-to-drive' vehicle. The turbo gives it's share of thrills, but some tell me that 1.2 GT TSI is much more fun to drive regardless of the lower power output.
2. Ecoboost waiting period is still hovering around 8-12 months.

Adding a third reason to the above:
3. Price premium. For an engine that gets an excise discount, you still pay a premium for it. Consider this:

• In the Titanium trim, the EcoBoost engine costs Rs. 40,000 more than the 1.5 petrol, despite the 1.5 petrol not getting any excise benefit that the EcoBoost gets.
• In the Titanium+ trim, for a mere Rs. 1,000 more than the EcoBoost, you can get the Automatic with better safety kit (ESC/EBA/TCS) losing just the push-button start and leather seats.
• In both trims, the diesel is a tantalizing Rs. 72,000 rupees away, barely an 8% increase in cost, for better mileage and lower running costs.

I strongly suspect that the EcoBoost is going to end up like Fiat's cars - a hit with those who research it and know its strengths and weaknesses; and a failure to the car-buying public who go by popular opinion ("Petrol engine in an SUV? No way!", "1-litre engine for such a big vehicle? No way it can pull it easily.", "Stay away from all EcoBoost and EcoBournvita, just buy a diesel.").

PS: I don't deny the fact that the engine is high-tech, and Ford needs to recoup their R&D investment into this engine across all EcoBoost models.

Footnote:
All prices are from Ford's site as of 1-Sep-2013, and represent ex-showroom prices in Bangalore.

[DieselDelight]

Very interesting that deeply localized models are still surviving. Suv commands sizeable market. Diesel story is still intact due to 20Rs price difference.

[csanand]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

I heard earlier that Ertiga production was interrupted because of a production ramp-up operation.

My SA told me the same thing, but he said it is due to shifting of the production plant. I couldnt get this news anywhere else though. Where did you hear this from?

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Ertiga-P selling more than Diesel variant was indeed a revelation. Looks like a combo effect of a good petrol engine + launch of the CNG variant.

If the above constraint news is true, it is more of a supply side variance than demand side. Only figures for Oct will confirm this.

[figo_mba]

I feel that the hyundai i10 grande is going to be in the top 4 soon and the little wagon r will lose its position.

I mean look at the two cars, My money is on i10 grande.

[Bluefiat]

Fifth month of recovery for the sales of Fiat in India; in July-August-September returning to positive.

Statistics: http://www.carsitaly.net/fiat-car-sales_india.htm