[AshBabu]

Is it possible to provide Petrol - Diesel split data on Corolla Altis?

It would be interesting to note if Toyota is successful in churning out D1 sedan with underpowered (for D1 segment) diesel engine.

[balajisv]

DZire at 14K units. Any breakup on how many are for taxis? I'm sure a good percentage of DZire and Etios is being lapped up by cabbies in the last couple of months.
Personal buyers of DZire would have definitely ceded out to Ciaz, Elite i20 and the Zest.

[Hayek]

Glad to see the Zest doing so well - despite everything, I have a soft corner for Tata Motors and hope to see them succeed. Am told there is a substantial wait list as well - so I hope they are able to ramp up production to use that.

Surprised that the Ciaz is doing well even in its second month - I think it is a terrible product, and it seemingly is selling only due to Maruti's reach.

VAG must be worried now - they have invested in the new 1.5 TDi, and brought diesel automatics into the C2 segment, and are still losing sales. Don't know what they are up to in the D segment however - the Jetta, Octavia and Superb combined are down to 300 cars from over 500, but my company has been told it will take at least 4 months to get a Superb despite being flexible on colours (we are buying 3 Superbs for use as pool cars). The only explanation is if Audi sales are going through the roof and assembly capacity is being used for that.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by balajisv

DZire at 14K units. Any breakup on how many are for taxis?

As per maruti site, 1989 dzire tours sold on nov.

[rajneeesh]

MSIL has almost 50 % of the market. Something they can do to put is a stronger performance is to make their cars styling a bit more exciting. The Celerio and th Ciaz are very ordinary. The I20 Elite has hit the jackpot for Hyundai,It has its stunning looks pulling in a tot of customers. The Elantra and the Verna also look bette than the drab desins from Maruti. The S Cross is plain boring and hopefully they will tweak it a bit before they launch it in India.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

MSIL has almost 50 % of the market. Something they can do to put is a stronger performance is to make their cars styling a bit more exciting. The Celerio and th Ciaz are very ordinary. The I20 Elite has hit the jackpot for Hyundai,It has its stunning looks pulling in a tot of customers. The Elantra and the Verna also look bette than the drab desins from Maruti. The S Cross is plain boring and hopefully they will tweak it a bit before they launch it in India.

You are spot on. i20 elite is new Swift. i20 elite has done in 2014 what Swift had done in '05. i10 Grand, too, is a stunner. If I were in a market for a hatch, I would close my eyes and pick up i10 Grand or i20 elite. MUL certainly does not have anything looking as good in its protfolio of 'hundred' hatches. I always found Hyundai hatches downright ugly until these two came along.

As for MUL, they should stop their hatch-launching spree ( where did Celerio get them? No where.) and focus more on new emerging trend, mini-SUVs. They showcased XA Alpha as far back as 2012 and yet no word from them. I have given up on them. Even if they launch, it will be MT only or with that stone-age 4-speed AT unit which did duty from A-Star to SX4/Vitara. Before MUL can get its act together, Hyundai will launch ix25 and it looks way better than funky XA Alpha. Also, if i10 Grand and i20 looks and features are any indication, ix25 will be one hell of a looker. Duster/Ecosport should be very worried.

[shankar.balan]

Very interesting as always.

I completely agree that these manufacturers would do very well indeed, if they were to start focussing on giving the public those lovely fully loaded hatchback cars, with lots of power under the hood and tons of safety kit, features etc.
And yes, most manufacturers are late into the fray on the compact SUV segment - Hyundai should certainly launch the ix25 and Maruti, their XA Alpha. About time. In my opinion all these guys are about ten years late in focusing on this particular segment. Many of us users have been waiting for a first class, comfortable, fully loaded, reliable replacement for the Gypsy, since the year 2004 - I remember talking to one of my friends (who is of a similar persuasion as myself) about this, sometime in 2004 Jan!

But Im also asking here, can we also have a set of similar "brand -wise" charts made for the Prestige and Luxe segment?
While the numbers will never be as large as this, at least we can see the increase-decrease in sales plotted over a reasonable time-scale.

[damager21]

Looks like "Ache Din" is here for Tata.

By the look of it, Tata could easily end 2015 in 4th spot beating Mahindra if not 3rd. Thanks to Zest, its volumes has increased from an average of 10k per month to 12k in the past four months. In fact, supply constraints of AMT from Magneti Marelli is holding it back.

With Bolt expected to be launched in Jan or Feb'15, their volumes is bound to cross 15k per month and if it was to introduce AMT in Bolt, then it could be close on the heels of Honda.

Honda itself will be launching Jazz by mid next year and face-lifted Brio which will take its volume close to 20k.

Not sure if Tata can reach those kind of numbers.

[rangarx]

Tata is one company which needs more numbers and I think they must focus all their energy in delivering the booked Zests. The waiting period of 6 months is bit higher and the AMT gearboxes can be sourced at a premium if needed. Way to Go, TML!

[sadsack]

Originally Posted by GTO

Tata's latest compact sedan brings some Zest to its sales! The company sees a little improvement on both, the MOM & YOY charts. 3,800 is an average start, yet the number is showing a consistent climb since the car was introduced. Let's just hope Tata's marketing machinery doesn't let this sedan down, as it's been a traditional weak point within the company.


I'm just wondering which dimwit told Renault-Nissan that you have two struggling brands in India - Start with a THIRD!!! It's among the cheapest cars on sale, and still, the Datsun Go can't hold onto a bare minimum 1,000 sales. The tri-brand group has 11 cars in Indian showrooms, of which a single model has sold in the 4 digits (i.e. Duster). Everything else deserves to be put up in the hall of shame, that's how shoddily they were handled. YOY, the Duster loses a thousand sales. Compared to its monthly average in the year 2013 (4284 cars), 2014 (3322) sees it moving 960 units lesser each month. In comparison, the Terrano (monthly average = 1800) isn't able to hold a candle to its mechanically-identical sibling. Wondering what will happen to this group once the big boys (Maruti, Hyundai etc.) launch their compact SUVs.

Avventura came & went, so did the Linea Classic. The Punto & Linea - both - see a dip in their YOY stats. MOM, the Punto loses 50% volume. Don't expect any changes until fresh products arrive. Meanwhile, Fiat India is happy making 80% of its $$$ from supplying engines to others

I wonder when FIAT, GM (Chevrolet), Ford and Tata will get their act together. Have been waiting for a long time to see them do something good, but nothing is in sight yet. Tata seems to have made a reasonable start with the Zest but I am worried about its after sales service and dealers who behave like bootleggers who worry me. The Bolt could yet turn out to be a dud with its very obvious Vista like silhouette. The Zest started with an advantage of not replacing a car it looks like. The Bolt doesn't have that advantage. I don't know which genius in Tata decided to turn the Nano into a taxi. At this rate, all Tata cars will become taxis and Tata can become the official taxi maker of the nation.

Ford has products in the pipeline but the million dollar question is will they go the EcoSport way or the Fiesta way? Unless Fiat has some concrete plans they may as well shut shop and become an ancillary unit supplying the diesel engine of choice to other manufacturers. Even that could change with the decontrolling of diesel fuel now.

I read somewhere that GM will begin a new onslaught in 2017. Till then what? Twiddling of thumbs I guess.

I will disagree with GTO's take on the Nissan-Renault and Datsun thingy. What they face here is unprecedented. Renault is a tongue twister with most people thinking it is Renolt and the French have no brand equity here. No brand equity for Nissan either unlike Honda and Toyota. They complicated matters by badge engineering vehicles with differential pricing; again a complicated exercise with Nissan cars branded as Renault being more expensive the the Renault Duster being branded as a Nissan being more expensive as a Nissan. This is like the good old Bollywood scenario of Vinod Khanna and Dharmendra getting into a fight where neither loses. But the problem is neither wins also and both do get bruised.

The Datsun idea if you ask me is brilliant. Strikes a chord with oldies like me and rolls of the tongue easily. Especially for the cheaper car buyers. The NCAP and the great Nazi Max Mosley has bunged a spanner into the Datsun's works by exceeding his mandate and writing to Carlos Ghosn to take if off the Indian market. It is akin to strangling a new born baby that already has a few health issues. But with Renault going the small car way and Datsun going the RediGo way, there maybe hope. I think Nissan is the one of this trio which is going to be left out in the cold at least temporarily. But I think ultimately they will get their act together. Lets wait and see.

[tejas08]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

I always found Hyundai hatches downright ugly until these two came along.

The exact same opinion i had about Hyundai hatches before I saw the Elite i20 for the first time.

The Elite i20 somehow has an uncanny resemblance to a shrunked up Range Rover Evoque. Does anybody else in here feel the same.

But nonetheless, it looks super. By far the best looking hatch available right now. I would love to see the Verna being done something like that. The Fluidic design has started to get a little boring now.

[balajisv]

Originally Posted by rangarx

Tata is one company which needs more numbers and I think they must focus all their energy in delivering the booked Zests. The waiting period of 6 months is bit higher and the AMT gearboxes can be sourced at a premium if needed. Way to Go, TML!

A bit surprised about this 6 months wait. I'm told 15-20 days by Prerana Motors in Bangalore for AMT.

[arnabchak]

Rated 5 Stars and thanks Rush for your in depth analysis.

Some thoughts:

1) Amaze:
The sales are dipping and Honda is worried.
You can see a no. of sales push ads to exchange your car with an all new Amaze at the Same EMI.

The car with a H badge and a good engine deserves 5k+ sales.
Its bogged down with a poor interior feel and an even poorer driving dynamics.

2) CIAZ
5.5 K for a 10 lac car from the Maruti stable is a block buster.
Saw the car in flesh last week and surely, it has a character.
Looks big, feels plush and the interiors are unlike any Maruti that has ever hit India(barring the much more expensive CBU Kizashi).

I presume, in the coming months, the fight between the crome mustache and Ciaz will only become hotter and expect the Ciaz to settte in about the same range(5K).

3)GO

Its time to GO.
Failed to completely understand the psyche behind the Nissan-Renault management.
Like Rush correctly commented, they have 2 failing brands.

What was the idea of getting a cheaper nondescript Datsun in India.
Add to that the blow in the NCAP and Datsun needs to go out of India ----PRONTO!!

4) Zest
Very happy for this good looking compact.
A good effort from Tata and it shows.

Minimal cost cutting and good quality interiors, top notch features, a forward looking ASC direction given to associates and affordable.

I expect the Zest to stabilize more than the current 3.8K(at about 4.3K).
Word of mouth is a big selling tool.

At the same time, the demise of the capable Manza was sad.
Selling just 130 nos. per month clearly indicates that Tata have already decides to rest this very capable car.

5) Celerio/Wagon R/Swift/Dzire
The bulls in the automobile market!!
Celerio will further dip as the Alto AMT is more VFM.
Additionally, Wagon R may also be launched with an AMT that could kill the Celerio.

No stopping the other 3 though. Wagon R, already 15 lac units sold, is going all guns blazing.
Imagine a practical city hatch selling very high nos. MoM/YoY and plonked with an AMT/DDIS.
We could just be looking at the chart topper there.

Dzire and Swift are quality products and end users look beyond their inherent flaws.
It takes years to build the trust that Maruti enjoys.

Zest is a better all round product any day. But given a choice to buy, 75% will buy the Dzire. Reason- Only the brand name.

6) RITZ
It was a potential Swift competitor. Yet, priority to the Swift by image positioning it above the Ritz and the ugly rear destroyed the car.
I still believe with some modification to the rear, interiors, RITZ can easily get the company close to 3.8K-4K sales. The engine is a gem.

7) ECOSPORT & the fallen trio-Classic/Figo and Fiesta

• Ford has chosen to ignore Indians.
• Indians likewise chose to ignore Ford.
• Who loses?
• Both.

EcoSport is doing close to 4K. But then Maruti/Hyundai baby SUVs are in the making.
Eco sport will not be able to hold on.

And the fallen? Fiesta? Great car, great driving dynamics, well loaded- All comes to nil.
Original Fiesta(Classic)? Too old and long in the tooth.
It reminds me of the eternal classic from Metallica's "Unforgiven"

"Throughout his life the same –(Classic)
He's battled constantly.
This fight he cannot win –(a fight with better entry sedans)
A tired man they see no longer cares.(Ford India Management)

The old man then prepares(Classic)
To die regretfully –
That old man here is me."

Figo facelift in expected in 2015. The new rendition did not really look exciting.

8) Etios twins and the "runaway Bride"
Toyota wanted to sell cheap stuff.
India wanted none of it.

Etios is relegated to the Merus and the Tab Cabs and Liva is as good as naught.

The do have the runaway bride though.
"Nayi naveli dulhan"- the blockbuster Corolla.
An underpowered engine driving a "hyper" powered Corolla!!

And the Dev Anand in the line up- Innova and Fortuner!!

They can gain greater glories. Pls. get the Etios corrected.
Good interiors, a conventional speedo layout with all meters( Love the analogue temp gauge, Please) and see it soar

I am interested, to start with!!

[autobahnjpr]

As usual in-depth insight in to the car industry sales and trends. Maruti holding >47% of market share in spite of cut throat competition from global players is a testimony to the amazing insight the company has on Indian consumers. From maruti 800 till today, it has consistently introduced block buster products. Same is the case with hyundai - starting from santro, they have consistently introduced new products and the case in point in the new i20. I have seen so many on roads these days and no wonder it is there at the top.
It will be interesting to see the number for December as companies might pile up dealers for higher sales figures and due to higher production as things are not clear on the excise duty benefit front.

[i74js]

The manufacturers with less than 1000 cars per months for the last 2 years should plan their exit strategy from the country. It is clear that they have no plans for India and do not want to compete here.

I am amazed as to how their dealers are surviving with such poor sales as compared to other players.

Even the law should do something and make desired provisions for such companies.

Barring FIAT, which has a engine manufacturing and supplying interest, I do not see the reason for other players to be in India. And there is nothing to be ashamed of in admitting failure. There are other markets where these companies can focus and channelize their energies.

Cheers !