Movers & Shakers
Wish you & your Family a very Happy Diwali!
Other than the financial year ending in March 2013, Diwali & Dhanteras are high on action in the Indian car market. Many customers plan their big ticket purchases (cars & gold) around this auspicious season. As a result, car manufacturers begin stuffing dealer pipelines from end-September itself. This reflects in the factory dispatch numbers. October 2013 records the highest sales of the current fiscal year @ 229,000 units. Incidentally, the market size is identical to last October.
One way to generate showroom footfalls is snazzy new launches. Brands with an aggressive product strategy have recorded year-on-year improvements, while those with an older line-up witness flat or negative growth. It helps that public sector banks (such as the SBI) cut their interest rates on car loans by 20 basis points in October. Then, discounting is rampant, considering how the year has been so far. It's a nice time to be out shopping.
The strong monsoons have rejuvenated demand in rural India. This sector is only expected to improve, and manufacturers without a suitable dealer network or product range for rural India will have to watch from the sidelines.
Maruti's cars occupy the top 4 places on the best-selling chart, as well as 6 of the top 10. Overall sales are the highest since March 2013, yet the 100,000 mark remains ever elusive in the current financial year. YOY, Maruti has gained all of 60 units. Blockbusters like the Alto, Swift, Dzire & WagonR give Maruti over 75% of its volumes. That's good or bad, depending on how you see things. The Ertiga & Omni record an awesome month too. However, the Eeco & Ritz remain mediocre performers, despite Maruti's powerful brand & dealer support. The company has wisely started to trim its range and remove the duds. The Estilo is being discontinued and the A-Star is expected to follow. No CBU flops (Kizashi, Vitara) rolling into the country either. The YL1 (SX4's replacement) is gearing up for launch. Nice to see that Gypsy dispatches have started again. Apparently, its production resumes once in a couple of months as Army orders pile up.
October 2013 was the 3rd best month in the recent history of Hyundai India, and the largest volume it has seen since Feb-Mar 2012. It's all down to the Grand i10 (petrol outselling diesel, by the way). Along with the older generation, the i10 nameplate brought in 15,000 customers for the Korean company. The i20 crosses the 6K mark after a long time. However, the Eon's lack of spunk is disappointing. In terms of gross revenue, it doesn't match either of its more expensive hatchback siblings. Where the market has grown in September & October, Eon sales have actually dipped. Even the 15 year old Santro brought home recovered numbers. Meanwhile, the Verna continues to dominate its segment and the Elantra does nearly 400 cars. Whoever said a 10+ lakh Hyundai won't sell ought to eat their words.
An average month for Mahindra. It loses 4,000 sales on the YOY chart and the shipments are about the same as May 2013. MOM growth is significantly higher though. The Bolero obliterates its competition and the Scorpio is the most popular SUV in India. The superb XUV500 also climbs past the 3K mark. That said, the performance of the Xylo, Quanto, Verito & Vibe is pathetic. Mahindra recently launched a 9-seater version of the Xylo to target the cab segment; that doesn't seem to be doing much yet. On the positive side, the Thar sees its best month in history. 842 is quite an achievement for a 2-door 4x4 Jeep with a load of jugaad under the skin.
Tata holds on to rank no.4, a position it frequently jostles with Toyota for. But that's hardly a consolation. The homegrown giant loses a third of its sales compared to last October...that's 7,000 cars! From its portfolio, only the Indica & Indigo siblings are keeping factory workers occupied. All of its UVs -
once a stronghold of Tata - are under performers, right from the Sumo to the Aria. The Nano remains a struggler at 2,000 odd dispatches, about 90% short of its breakeven point (20,000). What a contrast to the fortunes of the margues (JLR) Tata bought not so far back.
A mixed bag of results at Toyota as well. The UV division reports excellent numbers : The Innova blazes past the 6,000 level at the same time that the 25-lakh Fortuner moves a stunning 1,600 copies. The ol' Corolla Altis has a respectable run in the D1 segment. Sure doesn't look like anyone in the Diwali mood is lining up for an Etios or Liva though. Things are expected to remain subdued for the cheap siblings until 2015, when their reskinned versions are launched.
Honda managers must be planting a good night kiss on the diesel engine, every night before hitting the sack. Thanks to the i-DTEC, Honda is now a regular player in the 5-digit club, closing October with 11214 cars. The Amaze sells almost 10,000!! Further, Honda's year-on-year growth is an impressive 50%. Over some months of 2012 & 2013, Toyota used to sell double / triple the volume of Honda. Now, the difference is only 2,000 cars between the two. If Honda didn't have production constraints, it would have easily overtaken its nemesis. The City's production has come to an end; it's next-generation replacement will be unveiled in a month or so. The CR-V & Accord are doing alright, keeping their pricing & petrol-only power in mind. The Brio's poor performance can (at least in part) be attributed to Honda prioritising the Amaze's production.
What the Amaze is to Honda, the EcoSport is to Ford. The compact SUV is slowly & steadily chewing its way through the 12-month long order list. 5100 dispatches isn't as high as expected for the EcoSport, albeit that's because of the export commitments. The Classic sees a spurt in demand to 800 units, but the real surprise is the new Fiesta with 410 dispatches. That's the most the flopped sedan has sold in 2 years. Could be down to aggressive promotions & discounts. The Figo hasn't been able to sustain 3K levels. Fact is, the hatchback is getting long in the tooth now. Its next generation couldn't be coming any sooner. Year 2015 will be interesting as Ford has lined up the new Figo, Endeavour & facelifted Fiesta for launch.
Not much to talk about @ Chevrolet, except for the Tavera resuming regular production (
post the recall debacle). It's as if the entire range of cars is out for a leisurely walk, while the rest of the world is lighting up firecrackers. The Beat, Sail siblings, Enjoy & Cruze sell about the same figures they've been for the last couple of months. I think that Chevy's automobiles are competent & well-priced in India. This dismal performance is a failure of the sales & marketing division. A deeper analysis might make for a great thread.
The Renault-Nissan combine made some real strides in October. Together, they've dispatched over 10000 cars from the same factory. Of course, that's completely down to the Duster-Terrano. Don't forget, club the Duster & rebadged Terrano numbers and you're looking at the best-selling SUV in the country. Renault loses out on the year-on-year charts, although Nissan has grown nearly threefold (due to the Terrano). All of the other cars from this group are laggards or failures. Even the Sunny barely sells 500 units this festive season. Clearly, no one gives a damn about the improved Evalia. Notice how the Micra petrol outsells its diesel variant 3:1. Reason? Horrid positioning.
VW has gone from being
super aggressive to
super lazy in a span of 2 years. No new launches at all; a 1.6L swap on the Polo or DRLs for the Jetta will only take you so far. What should be a matter of huge concern is the 15% loss year on year. The Polo's running out of revvs, yet the Vento sells over 2,000 after a long time. Not much is expected to change with the German giant, until a wider range of sub-10 lakh cars are introduced. There's a ton of unsold Passats lying in dealer stockyards. These need to be cleared before the facelift starts rolling out of the factory.
October was the best month for Skoda in 2013. The new Octavia jumps straight to the top of the D1 sedan segment, in spite of it wearing a heftier price tag than the Elantra & Corolla. Also helping the cause is the fact that its mid-variant DSG diesel costs the same as the outgoing car. It's curtains for the Laura. The Fabia might have reached the end of the road, but Skoda is clearing up whatever stock it had built up. Once done, the Fabia will join the Laura to the grave.
Fiat records the most dispatches since March 2012. Still, 1200 cars is hardly anything to write home about. The cut-price Linea did bring a handful of additional sales to the model. With a stubborn frown, HM still refuses to share Ambassador numbers. Don't know what they have to hide as the BSIV version would have only improved sales of the ol' lady. I'm pretty sure it's outselling some of the more modern sedans.