[aniketi]

Last 2 months sales figures are as expected apart from only 1 model. Its Honda City !!! Doing such large numbers for such a costly car (its above 9 lacs i guess for base petrol model as well) is simply great. Kudos to them for that. Just wondering from where they are generating such large sales numbers. I can see Ford EcoSport & Verna are loosing mainly here. Considering the segment in which it comes, difficult to maintain these numbers i guess. Going forward i guess it will settle to 5-6 K per month. Lets see.

[desdemona]

Mahindra should and is doing well enough, but only for now. Y-O-Y they are down a fair bit in market share of the "SUV" segment (excluding the Bolero), in large part because there finally is much more credible competition (Duster, Terrano, Ecosport) with A LOT more competition coming soon enough (from Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Fiat and Tata). The golden age of Mahindra as an Indian "car" maker will end pretty soon.

[subscrive]

Originally Posted by rahul4321

The other gives it some bells and whistles, a few styling touches here and there and decides to badge it in a way where the older name is completely removed (Wagon R - Stingray) but it still doesnt fool the people!!

Stingray looks quirky. Not the case with new i10.

[subscrive]

Originally Posted by desdemona

I believe the Competition Commision of India needs to launch an investigation into over-concentration in the Indian mass market for passenger cars, in almost all segments.

They should focus on market failures caused not so much by companies/dealers/branding as by ignorant and irrational consumer behaviour (information poverty and distortions for eg about safety and recalls, failure to gather and autonomously evaluate information about car companies and models i.e., the most herding effect of any car public in the world).

What remedial action to take, and what penalties to levy is a tricky question, but this is clearly NOT remotely a well-functioning 'free' market.

Oh, come on! This is in fact the best free market. Let it be heard mentality. But no govt meddling in the market.
2nd point. You yourself say that consumers are ignorant and irrational. Then why punish companies for the customers' "mistakes". (I still dont agree that people are ignorant or irrational. There's logic of finance, ASS etc going into buying decision.

[GLAD73]

Great comeback from Honda. Last year around this time they were struggling with their petrol only models. Hoping Tata can manage a similar comeback with the Bolt and Zest.
Chevy cannot seem to do anything right,the Sail sedan and U-VA are competent models but do not seem to be able to excite the public. Though Mahindra is doing well right now I wonder what will happen when demand for the Bolero begins to taper off.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by subscrive

Oh, come on! This is in fact the best free market. Let it be heard mentality. But no govt meddling in the market.
2nd point. You yourself say that consumers are ignorant and irrational. Then why punish companies for the customers' "mistakes". (I still dont agree that people are ignorant or irrational. There's logic of finance, ASS etc going into buying decision.

Well said. Government should stay away from meddling in a free market. In a free market every individual gets a vote, unlike a government where some idiot gets to decide what is best for all of us.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by subscrive

Oh, come on! This is in fact the best free market. Let it be heard mentality. But no govt meddling in the market.
2nd point. You yourself say that consumers are ignorant and irrational. Then why punish companies for the customers' "mistakes". (I still dont agree that people are ignorant or irrational. There's logic of finance, ASS etc going into buying decision.

If govt really wants to do something, let them first focus on simple things like building roads and highways. They are screwing up on their duties as much as the worst car manufacturer (or even worse) operating in India

[carpacman]

Honda got it on the money with the new city. A stiff battle in the sub 4 metre sedan segment where the Amaze and Dzire are battling out. Hyundai's Xcent and the grand i10 are going to bring the volumes for them but in the medium term Honda is going to come out as the winner with its new city and Amaze. I am also glad to see Fiat picking up.

[desdemona]

Originally Posted by blacksport

Well said. Government should stay away from meddling in a free market. In a free market every individual gets a vote, unlike a government where some idiot gets to decide what is best for all of us.

Hope this is not :-

Really? You don't think there should be safety and efficiency standards mandated by the government--which does not mean a neta or any babu but a 'regulator' (like RBI, SEBI, TRAI. In the US: the FHA) type body? You don't think there should be penalties for abuse of dominant market position by say Maruti, which I assure you is very prevalent?

You think, for example, having an ombudsman for disputes arising between giant corporations and their dealers on the one hand, and small customers would be an invalid way of governing the 'free' market?

Why should dealers not be licensed by a regulator: are you not aware of the number of black-monied crooks and goons who own dealerships in too many cases?

A 'free' market has to have rules of all sorts otherwise it will completely malfunction (that Maruti suzuki and Hyundai between them have more than 65% of the mass market cornered even after 15 years of intense competition.is sign of--possibly, it needs to be investigated by a body like the CCI--market failure.)

The wrong sorts of government intervention in markets should be discouraged. But I believe there are many good bases for other sorts of interventions, without which the Indian car market will not evolve beyond CS sedans, TOTALLY unsafe tinny cars with skinny tyres and lousy brakes, and other such automotive marvels.

[Theyota]

Folks every car company that you compare Tata Motors against has been in the business of making cars at least 3 decades before Tata Motors. If you have any clue about manufacturing, you will reasonably understand why Tata Motors has had the problems it has had. They did make some serious mistakes, but they have learnt from them and are moving on from them. Tata Motors is here to stay in the passenger car business and will mint money out of it. It will be a matter of one more product lifecycle before they completely catch up with the Suzukis & Hyundais of this world. This thread deserves to be closed.

Note from Support: Please do not type with excessive....dots....like....this. Use proper punctuation to ensure the legibility of your posts.

[troublemaker]

Really happy for Honda. They learned a lesson, did their homework and came back with a bang! People discounted them in the diesel motor world but what performance!

Really don't feel sorry for Skoda. Finally, people figured out that Skoda is not a premium brand and not worth the premium they have been charging.

[vsrivatsa]

Great Report!

My observations:
1. Great run by the City coming in at #7 , with Honda all set to launch the Mobilio in June, the numbers for Honda can only look upwards. I read that they are also planning for a 3rd plant somewhere in Gujarat. Amaze seems to have established a stable 7K number as of now.

2. Datsun Go! and Xcent - we possibly need the April report where these two cars get the full time slot to see the real numbers.

3. Celerio numbers are low by Maruti Standards and makes an entry into Top Losers. Not sure why?

4. The combined figure of the Duster and Terrano adds upto 7569 which you can unofficially call a #8.

[Sanjubose]

I wonder who is buying the santros. The number is sizeable but I donot see any new ones on road. Are the numbers entirely for the exported pieces?

[sadsack]

I was reading the latest issue of Auto Bild India and found a comment that the way the Indian market is going manufacturers will probably reconsider their commitment to it. One look at the sales thread and those fears seem well founded, though to say that they have to reconsider their commitment is perhaps a bit too alarmist; at least at this stage.

Tata is teetering on the verge of a major disaster. Relaunching of the Aria, the introduction of the Safari Storme and the continuous revamping of the Nano have not produced the results they would want. I have my doubts about the Bolt and the Zest being game changers for Tata, for despite major changes they still carry the silhouette that is identified with the Vista. Tata's products are fine (I own a Nano and a Vista) but the market perception of the products has turned out to be negative. I am no expert brand analyst so I will not venture into the whys of this. I can only say that Tata needs to bring in the AMT into the Nano really quickly and that along with some sustained marketing efforts, revamped dealerships and a bit of customer pampering to push the sales of the Nano up consistently. The Nano has hope. Otherwise they need an entirely new line-up of models and fresh thinking to make up for what they have been losing consistently.

The story of Volkswagen, Toyota, Skoda, Renault, Fiat, GM and Nissan baffles me completely. The kind of numbers they are doing doesn't warrant their presence in India at all. I am told that Fiat first wants to put dealerships in place before bringing new products into India. That is confusing since a couple of exciting new models would have given the dealers also some confidence. But then it seems like Fiat is in a mess worldwide. Nissan's persistence with the Evalia confounds any realistic thinking. I am not even sure if they have got the Datsun strategy right. A few more months and we would most likely know which way it is going with that brand. Toyota is a one trick pony. Remove the Innova and there seems to nothing much else there. The legend of the Octavia seems to have died in India. Otherwise how does one explain the sale of 200+ units. Renault sells the Duster and Nissan the Terrano and a bit of the Micra. But I would not go to the extent of writing these companies off, they may know things that I do not know.

GM was doing fine when it was bringing Korean products to India but seems to have lost its way once it has decided to look at China. I think GM India is no longer owned as much by the Chinese SAIC as it was sometime ago. I remember having read somewhere that India operations of GM are owned upto 82 % (not very accurate this number) now by GM itself. If that is true then GM would do well to rid itself Chinese derivatives such as the Sail twins and Enjoy MPV and go back to bringing products from its own portfolio in Korea. After all there is animosity and aversion to China in India because of the political relations. (Some may argue that we are buying made in China electronic goods, but that is so because they are all made there anyway and customers like to think that they are buying Nokia, Sharp, Panasonic, Apple etc., even though they are mostly manufactured in China; so the situation is not analogous).

However, one thing that is worth discussing is the top down approach that manufacturers blindly seem to be following. The space at the top is very small and to enter that in order to establish their brand, manufacturers will have to jostle with one another. A failure there would mean the death of the brand itself. Hyundai seems to be the one manufacturer who got their India strategy right. The rest of the foreign players seem to be just groping the dark, with no sign of having found a breakthrough.

Perhaps, it is time that they start thinking very differently from what they are doing now and innovate in a way which satisfies the very difficult to please and very cost conscious Indian customer. A Herculean task no doubt, but having invested in the car market here they may as well do something about it.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

Celerio numbers are low by Maruti Standards and makes an entry into Top Losers. Not sure why?

Celerio numbers are at peak output capacity of 6k units. Maruti is working with the parts suppliers and vendors to increase this to 10k in a few months.

Figuring into the top losers list is purely statistical. In Feb, they sold cars made in Jan and held back till launch as well as those made in Feb. That's why they were able to sell 7.3k when their monthly capacity is 6k. Sales should remain flat at 6k for the next few months.

Originally Posted by Sanjubose

I wonder who is buying the santros. The number is sizeable but I do not see any new ones on road. Are the numbers entirely for the exported pieces?

One group could be some of the senior citizens. A few of my dad's friends who are 70+ are reluctant to buy any new model since they don't want to adapt to a new car at their age. They are much more comfortable driving something that they are used to for the last decade or so. Santro ticks all the comfort features that they expect too including an effortless power steering that is very helpful at their age. They are okay with the dated looks too which is one of the biggest deterrent for the youngsters. One of them commented that it is still not as outdated as they were.