[sajusherief]

I'm bewildered to see the very low sales of xcent, amaze and zest compared to the high number of dzire - a clear indication of how choosy are people when it comes to brand! I always wonder how difficult the job of product planners are to decide on a product which sells (read 'which caters to the variety of preference').

[nkghai]

As usual excellent analysis.
Good to see that Toyota Corolla has more or less established itself as leader in the D1 segment ( sedans) as compared to likes of the earlier leader Elantra, Jetta, Cruz etc. Even Octavia finding it very hard in this segment. This beauty has clocked five straight months with decent numbers and almost double than the nearest competitor. Someone had mentioned earlier the chauffeur driven preference for Corolla Cars a couple of months back and it seems to be proving correct.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Rubbertramps

Should be able to see what numbers the new Fiesta is gaining from next month since the classic is discontinued.

Classic is discontinued? Are you sure? I still see them on the website. In any case, that's going to have Zero impact on the Fiesta.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Classic is discontinued? Are you sure? I still see them on the website. In any case, that's going to have Zero impact on the Fiesta.

In fact kiku, it will have an impact on the Figures.

Classic and New Fiesta figures are clubbed and represented.

IF Classic is discontinued, then the 538 would probably be at 150 odd and Fiesta will see its proud name in the list of "Top Losers"

[CoolCarNi]

People are choosy about brand, no doubt. But it's the perception of people about brand TATA that they don't get it right in the first go!
Too many instances of vehicle recalls, quality issues, poor fit and finish etc. right from Indica to Manza to Nano have made people realise to play it safe as far as a TATA vehicle is concerned.According to an article in livemint.com published on 7/7/14, 92 out of 100 people will not have a TATA car as their new car!
So, if Zest is good it will take 3-4 months for the perception to change by way of word of mouth publicity and improved A$$ from TATA. Till then keeping fingers crossed!

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by sajusherief

I'm bewildered to see the very low sales of xcent, amaze and zest compared to the high number of dzire - a clear indication of how choosy are people when it comes to brand!

Originally Posted by nkghai

Good to see that Toyota Corolla has more or less established itself as leader in the D1 segment ( sedans) as compared to likes of the earlier leader Elantra, Jetta, Cruz etc. Even Octavia finding it very hard in this segment.

These along are examples of people's preference for reliability and after sales and service as against the product itself. A great product is incomplete without supporting after sales service. Lately I have seen quite a few Petrol Dzires but it is hard to find a Petrol Amaze and Xcent.

[Khushrav]

I was really hoping that the Zest would break into the top 20. It missed that mark by a few hundred. But worryingly, for a new car which has bettered Amaze, Desire, Xcent and Etios in comparos...the numbers are disapointing.
But overall Tata must be happy that their slide is arrested - third month with sales that are better than the previous month.

[Rubbertramps]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Classic is discontinued? Are you sure? I still see them on the website. In any case, that's going to have Zero impact on the Fiesta.

My bad. I vaguely remember reading an article stating it is going to be discontinued.

[nkghai]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

These along are examples of people's preference for reliability and after sales and service as against the product itself. A great product is incomplete without supporting after sales service. Lately I have seen quite a few Petrol Dzires but it is hard to find a Petrol Amaze and Xcent.

You are right, as also the fact that i think Toyota has learnt from the mistakes it committed during Etios launch and has not repeated the same with Corolla.

[svsantosh]

Hatch going below 50% for 1st time in history ever (Looks like) - this sure is a turning point for Indian Auto scenario! Uncharted territory! Lets see in a year from now how that holds good/pans out...

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Rubbertramps

My bad. I vaguely remember reading an article stating it is going to be discontinued.

In 2015, when the Ka/Figo Sedan comes.

[Autodoc]

Excellent analysis as usual Aditya!

Couple of things, firstly zest not making to the top 10 is quite disappointing. It's a well packaged car and a really honest effort from TATAs side. Despite the 2014 released xcent, zest and amaze, dzire marching on strongly. I don't understand why maruti has to bother with an update/facelift? Same is the case with swift. Huge fluctuations in amaze numbers must be because of mobilio manufacturing. City numbers have also picked up.

Gypsy numbers have gone down, probably the army orders were fullfilled.

Secondly, Ford fiesta. It's another brilliant car. It's true that ford's gamble of releasing a diesel only update backfired taking into account current market trend. Nevertheless a bit saddening. City, verna and rapid vento numbers will go down once ciaz starts rolling out.

Renault (except duster) , GM and Nissan continue their lack luster performance.

Polo numbers haven't improved by much after the facelift. I think Elite i20 has pulled most prospective customers in that bracket. Also fiat punto evo still hasn't touched 1000 mark.

Thanks
Sunny

[humyum]

For companies like Nissan and Datsun to succeed with no first movers advantage, they have to do something UNIQUE with their products to start with along with get the after sales service to be of Maruti Standards if they want to set a foot hold in India, otherwise the show is going to slowly mellow down to nothingness in no time. The Terrano being more or less same as the duster, is not helping Nissan's cause either, neither is the extra price of the same. If I were Nissan, I would differentiate their product from the Duster and there are quite a few VERY cheap ways to do it.

Originally Posted by sajusherief

I'm bewildered to see the very low sales of xcent, amaze and zest compared to the high number of dzire - a clear indication of how choosy are people when it comes to brand! I always wonder how difficult the job of product planners are to decide on a product which sells (read 'which caters to the variety of preference').

Since I have quite a bit knowledge and education in this field, I ll tell you this. Honda has got exactly what they intended with the sales figures of the Amaze. For the car to hit the nail in India, it takes only 3 parameters. NVH and thrill of driving ( read this as the turbo kick and handling), interior design and easy and cheap servicing.

When you start the car during a test drive or drive a friends car, these are the first things you notice. Amaze is not fun to drive, its plain boring. 100 bhp where ? Interiors are BORING and cheap and NVH is not good either. Simple put, its not a 10 thousand + units a month seller.

Honda city on the other hand - The interiors, the car overall are a genuine effort. The car is not fun to drive though. But some of the formulas in the city are right and the numbers show that. Inspite of being costlier than the amaze, its selling in numbers better than the amaze. Not surprising at all.

To be a product planner, they have to think like a customer and should have been a customer at some point in their life of the segment they are aiming. Driving Mercs and SUV's and planning smaller and medium size cars won't really help. Yes there is market survey as to what a customer wants, but losers follow trends, winners make trends. What trend to make, only a once upon a time customer of that segment who becomes a product planner can tell you.

[rajneeesh]

MSIL and TML do not seem to have made big dispatches of ther new launches viz. the Ciaz and the Zest. There are waiting lists for the Zest and the Ciaz. I expect the November figures to be very different.

The Ecosport is still under 5 K units per month. 15 months since the car was launched and Ford is yet to get its production constraints sorted out. With new launches across segments ( sedans and suv's ) happening all around, this car is losing its novelty value. The Scorpio saw 6000 units getting sold. FOrs has never had more than one decent selling model . While the Eco Sport is getting some numbers, the Figo dn Fiesta sales have evaporated. Next year when Hyundai and MSIL launch their compact SUV's/ crossovers , Eco Sport can expect its sales to get impacted again.

The Fortuner and Innova continue to keep Toyota cash registers ringing and Honda now has 3 volume sellers.

[karzzexped]

By looking at the sales of the Zest, it may not look like it has made a considerable amount of impact. But after close inspection, one can concur that the Zest has in-fact liquidated the sales of the other C-Sedans. By pampering and concentrating on these 5000+ customers (including last month's) with much sensitivity and with a good, no no overwhelming ASS, the numbers could be stretched into a larger customer base IMO.