[rajeev k]

Certain points are worth noticing here;
1. People's preference is going towards bigger vehicles from small hatches. Alto 800 sales dropped while Swift and Dzire gained.Combined sales of B2 and C1 segment rose.
2. The best thing that happened to Honda was the launch of its much delayed Diesel
engine which catapulted it into the third place.
3. A Diesel Brio can wipe off the Chevy Beat like the City did to Verna.
4. A thought out competitive pricing for the Mobilio would have directly hit Maruti's
Ertiga and indirectly the Dzire.
5. Hindustan Motors' contribution is a big zero now.

[troublemaker]

Honda is ready for a real case study in every B School. They had serious problems in Indian market. They planned, executed and look at what they have done! Just think about what would happen when Jazz comes next year and the small SUV after that.

[NaveenKBorra]

Great Analysis.
Really wanted to see Honda in second spot and on top of Hyundai. They can do it only by increasing the product portfolio. Just 74 Brios does not do justice to the wonderful little car.
While Mobilio brought more customers this month to Honda, the newly launched i20 will do same to Hyundai in coming months.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

2. The best thing that happened to Honda was the launch of its much delayed Diesel engine which catapulted it into the third place.

The best thing that happened to Honda is that they lost the famous 'premium brand' attitude. The attitude that prompted them to build quality cars, stay away from noisy and unrefined diesels, not compromise quality by competing in the budget segment etc.

What's best for Honda might not be best for the customers though!



Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

[avdhesh15]

Honda will still find it a bit tough in the short term to consolidate until both their plants are running at optimal capacities. But I have a strong inclination to believe that once their teething issues are sorted out, they will make a charge towards the number 2 spot. With appropriate repositioning of their cars, they potentially have presence across segments and that will give them the required armor to battle Hyundai.

[rahul412]

Surprised to see a jump in Aria sales. But to have any meaningful sales, Tata needs to carve a new car from Aria (like they have carved Zest out of Vista). I think its inevitable that Aria will be launched in a new Avatar, but when, that is the question.

[sushrut]

Thanks for this article! Interesting numbers indeed.

What we see here with Mobilio is the segment expanding without affecting Ertiga or even Innova (though not in direct competition). Honda, sadly, is clearly killing Brio which is such a competent car. And looks like Jazz will further make things difficult for Brio.

M&M is in for some tough times with Honda and renewed TATA snarling at it now. With no new launches in near future, they are going the TATA way with an aged product portfolio and no new products for at least a year. Verito, Vibe, Xylo, Quanto are duds and only saving grace is the old work horses Bolero, Scorpio and XUV.

Toyota clearly has no clue as to what will work here. Innova continues to bring in numbers because of the commercial/fleet operators. Otherwise, rest of the lot is really not going to help them much even if they continue with cosmetic changes.

Next month report should be really interesting for TATA. They have priced Zest so well. Its amazingly feature laden and the fact that there is just 18K difference between XM and XMS which adds Airbags is simply awesome and really shows what value TATA has brought forward. They have made safety so affordable. Hats off to them.

[aneezan]

Dzire outselling the swift?! Since when did that start happening or am I missing some months in between?
Good to see that that the numbers of Polo are improving due to the new launch. Pity the Vento's

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by aneezan

Dzire outselling the swift?! Since when did that start happening or am I missing some months in between?
Good to see that that the numbers of Polo are improving due to the new launch. Pity the Vento's

The new sub 4m Dzire has been outselling the Swift ever since its launch( except one or two months).

[stanjohn123]

Clearly a great achievement by Honda. Never did I ever think that they would break the top 5. It seems bringing in the diesel engines has turned fortunes in their favor. All of a sudden wherever I look around i see a Honda City.

Toyota might be scratching their heads now. Probably kicking themselves for letting them out of their radar.

[blacksport]

I think, after a couple of moths of sales of the Mobilio, Honda would be back to where it belongs. This month's numbers just suggest that Honda manufactured quite a few Mobilios. Not that customers actually bought them. Nevertheless, Mobilio would see some sales during the first few months, and later would settle below 1K.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by sushrut

M&M is in for some tough times with Honda and renewed TATA snarling at it now. With no new launches in near future, they are going the TATA way with an aged product portfolio and no new products for at least a year. Verito, Vibe, Xylo, Quanto are duds and only saving grace is the old work horses Bolero, Scorpio and XUV.

I read somewhere that the (Ssangyong) Korando will be launched in India sometime soon. While I don't think it would bring in huge numbers, it will surely spice up the 15 to 20 lac SUV segment which does not seem to have too many options currently.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by troublemaker

Honda is ready for a real case study in every B School. They had serious problems in Indian market. They planned, executed and look at what they have done!
...

Really?

All they did was offer a diesel in their erstwhile best seller in a diesel crazed nation.

That too after quite a while. They didn't see/plan ahead to get the diesel here on time. Who knows, they might have been at No.2 if they had introduced it earlier and ironed out the manufacturing by now.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Really?

All they did was offer a diesel in their erstwhile best seller in a diesel crazed nation.

That too after quite a while. They didn't see/plan ahead to get the diesel here on time. Who knows, they might have been at No.2 if they had introduced it earlier and ironed out the manufacturing by now.

+1 Dry Ice.

And they have also got their production preference incorrect by promoting Mobilio over the City leading to a lot of dis satisfaction.

Add to that the high handedness of the dealers and all in all, it is actually a study of what a giant MNC should not be doing!!

[troublemaker]

Sure, they had almost failed. That is exactly what a B school would teach - if you fail, acknowledge it, fix it and bounce back.

Also, a diesel mill was never their forte. They had to play on their weak spot.