[Hayek]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

if you were to compare the top-end Octavia to the base A3 it's no competition in terms of features and space whatsoever. The A3 will surely do very well for itself, but if Skoda can ensure a strong supply of Octavia's they should be just fine. The only reason we're seeing such mediocre numbers for the Octavia is a weak supply of the cars from Skoda itself. They really do know how to shoot themselves in the foot!

Actually, they are not shooting themselves in the foot. Agree that Skoda's poor sales are partly due to lack of deliveries - my neighbour booked the new Superb (yes, 1.8 TSi DSG despite knowing about all the problems I faced), and has been told he needs to wait at least 2 months even though he is flexible on colours. But to understand the rationale for this, you must look at what VW AG is doing with its Indian assembly capacity.

Unlike Renault and Nissan, which are independent companies that have cross shareholdings but also have minority shareholders, Audi, VW and Skoda are all 100% owned by VW AG. The Skoda Aurangabad plant makes 3 Skoda models - the Yeti, Octavia and Superb; 1 VW - the Jetta (now that the Passat is not around) and 7 Audi models (A3, A4, A6, A8, Q3, Q5 and Q7). Audi sold over 10000 cars last year before the A3 launch (including 1400 in March alone). Despite the pathetic sales of Skodas and VWs made at the Aurangabad plant, I am sure the plant makes money - through the sale of much higher margin Audis. So while the Skodas and VWs produced at Aurangabad accounted for only 350 odd units, the plant probably produced at least a 1000 and more likely 1500 Audis as well. VW would much rather sell a base A3 (which probably costs them less to produce than an Octavia Elegance) than an Octavia. And the odds are that most customers who walk in to buy a base A3 end up paying 25% more for a higher end version. The Octavia, Superb et al are fillers in the Audi assembly line.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Actually, they are not shooting themselves in the foot...

...The Octavia, Superb et al are fillers in the Audi assembly line.

Thanks for that Hayek, it was very illuminating and gave me a different perspective.

My argument for Skoda shooting themselves in the foot was purely looking at it from Skoda's p.o.v.; they're languishing near the bottom of the manufacturer charts and have a firecracker of a car in the Octavia, but just can't meet the demand for it for one reason or the other, much of which you explained succinctly by saying they fill the value chain. The VAG group might well be happy with the way things are, but with Skoda looking to revive their fortunes I believed that to breach the gap they must meet latent demand for all cars, let alone a 20+ lakh car.

Thanks for the bird's eye view, hope I made some sense in terms of where I was coming from.

[rajneeesh]

The Aria did 201 vehicles. Is this a record for the product. It is a much better product than what the sales figures will make you believe. Hopefully for TML the numbers will keep the upward trajectory. The market is surely calling out for a competitor to the dependable but overpriced and under equipped Innova.

TML should report higher numbers in August due to the Zest launch. The compact sedan category is becoming a hotly contested one.

MSIL has stopped SX4 production. Next month should see Ciaz getting launched. With the Ciaz , the Vento and Rapid will be the oldest players in the segment save the Fiat Linea. It will be good to see if its launch effects the City and the Verna as these two have the C2 segment sewn up between them with the other players reduced to the status of " extras".

Hyundai will also be launching the i20 Elite. et us also see how does it shake up the premium hatch segment.

[The Observer]

Thanks for these awesome stats ! Get a feeling that the Celerio is steadily eating into the Wagon R's numbers (which have decreased), have heard more than once from fellow colleagues and family who like the Wagon R as a car and then saw the Celerio in flesh and thought Celerio is a better buy than Wagon R , do not know how many of you will agree with me?

Good to see the increase in Polo's numbers , surely this car(facelift) deserves more.

For Skoda the only positive is the slight and steady increase in Rapid's numbers in the last couple of months.

Curious to see Mobilio's performance over the next 2 - 3 months , will it stay in the top 20, despite the general feeling that it is over priced etc?

[drhoneycake]

Wow that is quite a figure. According to today's newspaper, car sales are up by 5% as quoted by SIAM. Maruti still holding 45% of the market share. Looks like nothing can dethrone Maruti for a while now.

Also the most interesting thing for me about this chart would the City entailing at no.5. Simply outstanding. Posting constant 7000+ sales every month. Honda has truly demolished its rivals in the C2 segment. Verna is off the charts.

P.S:- My first post in Team BHP. Hopefully it will be one helluva learning experience for me here from the highly experienced members.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by drhoneycake

Honda has truly demolished its rivals in the C2 segment. Verna is off the charts.

Yes, indeed. Honda City has completely overshadowed Verna. Now Honda should equip their diesel City with 5-speed autobox and that would kill whatever automatic Vernas Hyundai is selling. I just cannot pardon Hyundai for fitting a 4-speed autobox in their Vernas. A 4-speed? In 2014? When you hear about 9-speed Range Rovers, the least Hyundai could have done was fit a 5-speed AT.

[zenren]

This is Honda's month. Taking over the #3 spot is not a small achievement considering they've put the other Indian giants like Mahindra, Tata and the global giants like Toyota, Ford, VW and Chevy behind them.

Jul 2012: #9
Jul 2013: #5
Jul 2014: #3

Can we see them climb up to #2 in another year? Since they need to double their current numbers to give a challenge to Hyundai, that might not happen so soon. As we've seen in case of top 2 players, more models are likely to eat from the share of siblings first before attacking the competition. Still, with the right moves and launches, it is not impossible. We'll see.

Coming to the market leader, not able to meet the demands even after having a capacity of over 100k is definitely something unique. They've been juggling between the different best seller models to ensure no model falls behind. Maruti occupies more than 50% of the spots whether you take the top-5, top-10 or top-15 models which shows their depth.

Hyundai needs to be a little careful, their Xcent and Grand i10 are selling well, but they lost out on their older models like i10 and i20 which used to sell slightly lower numbers. So it is just a marginal growth in the segment, so to speak. With the new diesel City in the market, their ex-segment-leader Verna is not even near half of City's sales - something they should be worried about.

Other players: not much to say about. If we include Audi in the list, we might be in for a real surprise to see where it might slot into in terms of the manufacturer charts. Audi A3 at 23L certainly shows promise of a better number than what the other VAG siblings can probably manage. The German trio certainly has a badge appeal that no other brand has, and there would be a lot of folks in our status conscious society who would be willing to compromise on features if they can get these brands. Heck, they might even be willing to have no power steering and power windows.

Mods,
Can we start including Audi/Mercedes/BMW also to the list? (Or some of them if all are not willing to share monthly numbers? They certainly seem to be selling more than some of our 'common-man' brands!

Originally Posted by gemi_kk

Honda, Even i don't understand how come Honda is #3 in india. Amaze numbers slipped, but Mobilio number hardly meets earlier Amaze's 7K. Could some one clearly explain.

With neither Honda nor Mahindra having a 4th model that sells even 500 units, the contest is clearly between top 3 from each lineup. Each one of Honda's models are selling more than the corresponding model from Mahindra's list: City>Bolero, Amaze>Scorpio & Mobilio>XUV. So I would assume Honda is here to stay at #3 for some time.

If we exclude top 2, Honda is the only other manufacturer that has 3 models selling 3k+ units in a month, with one of them over 7k.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

They need to 'facelift' their after sales and dealership experiences too. Just getting facelift and fresh models won't help them much to set the charts on fire.
.

Exactly. Long term experience isn't that good for my cousins four year old polo. Regular service itself would come to 10k. Now that has gone further up since there are parts here and there which is being replaced. This is what is hitting sales since the first owners of these brands don't have good things to tell others.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by zenren

Jul 2012: #9
Jul 2013: #5
Jul 2014: #3

Can we see them climb up to #2 in another year?

Mathematically it is possible, since it is a progression (9 +(-4), 5 +(-2), 3 +(-1), 2). But practically for that to happen, they need to sell 15,000 more units per month. So they will need an Alto equivalent which does similar numbers and hope that Brio picks up and matches Swift in numbers.

[i10]

Honda is well on its way to becoming no. 2 once they sort out their capacity issues. Their strong badge value is definitely helping them. They still carry the aspirational value that most Indians look for. I myself know 3 people who bought the Amaze because it was a Honda. NVH, poorer finish and equipment levels compared to Xcent wasn't a deterrent because if they could afford a Honda, why go for a Maruti or Hyundai. Finally, fantastic stuff from the City. For a car around the million rupee mark, to figure in the top 10 in India talks volumes of the (rightly earned) trust it enjoys.

Hyundai on the other hand definitely is fighting a perception challenge here. Maruti has an emotional connect with most first time buyers, and Honda has tremendous aspirational value. The Korean, with neither the badge value nor a hassle free maintenance tag (perception), would need something out of the ordinary to change their situation. The Grand i10 has seen falling sales, Xcent is pretty static at 7K nor is the Eon flying. It isn't like these are bad cars compared to competition.

Finally, Toyota continues to mint its old models like no other (City barring). The Innova, Corolla and Fortuner are simply head and shoulders above the rest.

[koushik]

I had thought that Tata Storme would cross 1000 mark in July. Comparatively Scorpio is doing quiet well . I am finding it hard to know the secret. The increase in Sumo sale can only be attributed to taxi segment.

[Anoopscv]

Do we have separate numbers of Etios Cross and VW Cross Polo?

[zenren]

Originally Posted by Anoopscv

Do we have separate numbers of Etios Cross and VW Cross Polo?

Given all the Liva variants combined didn't sell 2k units, it is unlikely for Toyota to separate it out within these and make it look 'bad' or 'really bad' between the variants. There is no chance of 'good' given the total volume. Same applies with Polo too.

Given how many of these I've seen on road in a city like Hyderabad, it is unlikely to be encouraging.

[ampere]

Now what is wrong at Ford? A stellar product and a stellar pricing in Fiesta. But still the sales are just around the same. I expected big sales on that front. Some thing does not seem add up there. I think the deliveries have started. Haven't they?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by ampere

Now what is wrong at Ford? A stellar product and a stellar pricing in Fiesta. But still the sales are just around the same. I expected big sales on that front. Some thing does not seem add up there. I think the deliveries have started. Haven't they?

Yes but looks like very limited quantities. I haven't seen a single new Fiesta yet on the road.

Also note that Fiesta number is now combined Classic + new Fiesta.