[k_aggarwal]

Thanks for publishing these detailed charts.

Another chart that will be interesting to see, if available on a monthly basis, is the split between Petrol and Diesel car sales (across brands and segments). With the reduction in fuel prices and thereby reduced gap between Petrol and Diesel prices, has there been any shift in the ratio. I saw one report (see link below) that indicates that indeed there is a shift back to petrol and share of petrol vehicles is about 62%

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/46036238.cms)

[zenren]

Originally Posted by k_aggarwal

With the reduction in fuel prices and thereby reduced gap between Petrol and Diesel prices, has there been any shift in the ratio. I saw one report (see link below) that indicates that indeed there is a shift back to petrol and share of petrol vehicles is about 62%

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/46036238.cms)

I do agree that more buyers with low running are shifting back to petrol. However, the 62% is a little skewed by the fact that the A segment doesn't have a petrol offering and hence those buyers are still forced to choose petrol. Similarly, the taxi segment would continue to buy diesels except in the CNG mandated areas. So we should always look at the numbers excluding these two categories to really understand the customer sentiment. In the remaining segments, it is by pure choice that customers are buying petrol and that fraction has slowly increased. However, putting a number to it is tricky without filtering the categories that doesn't have a choice.

The best analysis for this was what we had in some of the previous months- petrol Vs diesel split at a model level. I assume manufacturers are no longer giving that information out.

[balajisv]

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[Sheel]

Innova & Scorpio at position 12 & 13 are surprising. They both are being lapped up & continue to be widely accepted. Agree, both products have their merits which shine much more and over shadow its demerits.

[Aditya]

Maruti Suzuki has announced that it has sold a total of 62,996 vehicles with factory-fitted CNG kits in FY 2014-15. This is a rise of 23% over the previous year. In FY 2013-14, CNG vehicles contributed to 4.9% of Maruti's total sales. In FY 2014-15, their contribution has increased to 5.4%.

Maruti's range of CNG cars includes the Alto, Alto K-10, Celerio, Wagon R, Eeco and Ertiga. All of these models feature regularly in the list of 20 best-selling cars of the month. In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, where distribution infrastructure is in place and CNG for automobiles is easily available, almost 50% sales of Wagon R, Eeco and Ertiga are accounted for by the CNG variants. The CNG variants of the Alto K10 and Celerio were launched in FY 2014-15.

Maruti's CNG vehicles use the company's Intelligent Gas Port Injection (i-GPi) technology. The i-GPI works on Dual-ECU (Engine Control Unit) technology. Maruti claims that this system delivers the optimum amount of gas to the engine. The i-GPI technology uses separate injectors for each cylinder. Based on inputs from the ECU, optimum CNG quantity is injected to the engine through gas ports. The quantity of CNG required for different driving conditions is controlled by the dedicated ECU.

CNG is believed to be a cleaner fuel compared to petrol and diesel. However, the main reason people buy CNG cars is that the gas is cheaper to purchase than other automotive fuels.

All Maruti CNG vehicles are offered with a warranty and service support at 3,500 service stations across the country.

[rav11stars]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Moving towards my thoughts on the current sales trend, its quite evident that Fiat's best shot at giving a makeover to Punto has failed, I certainly liked the smaller more simpler headlight styling of the previous Punto though the interiors of the current Evo is best in class. Is it possible people haven't accepted it for its front façade? Fiat should certainly do better, its ride & handling is miles better than VW/Skoda and even in build quality it puts those 2 brands to shame. A few more tweaks like improving its vague gearshift & lowering the steering stance should certainly help its cause. Sometimes attacking the pain points is all that it takes.

I personally liked the simpler styling of the GP and would've happily bought that if it was released with the new interiors. With the Punto Evo, it looks like FIAT attempted to please the mass market with a chrome overdose.
However after 8 months/8k km of owning an Evo the design has grown over me. Call it an obsession, but every time I take a walk around the parking or look down from my 6th floor balcony to check it out, I can't help but appreciate the design. It's not just a mad chrome overdose. it has nicely crafted lines and a nice design flow. Highway or in-city, I'm happy with it's drivability.

The other day we were out shopping when we stopped for directions. I overheard two cabbies talking. I looked out and heard (translated) "Is it a Polo?" "nahi re, Polo is shorter. It looks like foreign car". I caught their gaze, smiled back and said "bhai, this is the new Punto". "wah, we do not even know a new Punto is launched".

FIAT : That's how foreign you've become. Now, if that's in Pune which is 60km away from your factory, I can only imagine how it's elsewhere in India. For people to come in and look at your car, they need to know it exists.

[ratangera]

Thanks aditya for the information, every month I look forward to sales numbers . My observation on this are
1. Rapid and Vento are languishing at 15-20% of sales when compared to City and ciaz despite strong marketing efforts and various discounts on offer.
2. Like many on Forum, I am also waiting for Maruti's response to i20 elite 's numbers.
3. I felt Datsun go+ may get a better reception, however its numbers tell a different story.

[desiaztec]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

There is no stopping Honda. City is a emerging as a sedan segment juggernaut. What is wrong with Verna? For over a year now Verna stopped appearing on these charts. Even spruce up did not help. Ciaz seems to be losing steam, too. Amaze also seems to be picking up. Xcent is going the Verna way. But most surprising car, to me, is Wagon R. 15 years on and we still can't have enough of 'em? Wow!!! We need to take a long hard look at it to see what is it that endears itself to so many Indians.

Terming Wagon R a 15 year old product, despite of having various changes right from the engine specs to interior and a little bit of exterior would not be just.Its only the brand name that is being carried forward.

[arnabchak]

The Top and the bottom doesnt change much.

It is the middle that plays on.
Great show for Maruti again and the top 4 players remains consistent.
The spike of Wagon R sales though is surprising.
Celerio has also come up of late.

I see two trends clearly coming out:

Trend 1:
Honda is here to stay and proof that their profits are in sync is the 10K City's this month.
Amaze has been panned. Yet, it sells. 8K is very good for this Mini Honda.

Trend 2:
Whatever Tata seems to do is not clicking.
Zest is a very good product yet it fails to excite the scoring boards.
TML management will not be happy.
Bolt, the pricing disaster it is, is deservedly the place it is in.

Believe me, even these nos. for Bolt are sort of exaggerated. Rs. 65,000/- discount on a new car is indication enough that the pricing was absolutely haywire.
Tata is set to lose further and the Kite twins may not arrest the slide!!

----
A note on GM:

I has immense respect for the once admired American giant but then, over the years, they have given India nothing.
If you recall this famour saying of King Leonidas in 300:
"Give them Nothing but take from them Everything"

GM sort of believes in this theory as far as India is concerned.
They give us nothing:
a) But old discarded products from US and China
b) Stale SAIC inspired/derived products(Sail/Uva)
c) Old technology

They take from us everything:
a) Land from Govt. at subsidies
b) Cheap labour
c) Operational excellence

They are nothing but irrelevant to India and sooner than later, may be poised to wind up unless radical changes and improvements happen.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Maruti Suzuki has announced that it has sold a total of 62,996 vehicles with factory-fitted CNG kits in FY 2014-15. This is a rise of 23% over the previous year.
....
In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, where distribution infrastructure is in place and CNG for automobiles is easily available, almost 50% sales of Wagon R, Eeco and Ertiga are accounted for by the CNG variants.

I believe this is the real explanation of the skew towards petrol cars in the petrol vs diesel breakup since all CNG cars are counted as petrol variants.

To put some perspective, Maruti has sold more CNG cars than all the cars that the 5th largest car manufacturer in India managed to sell in 6 months.

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by PGA

Couple of weeks ago I was getting my car repaired at a roadside repair shop. Since I own a TATA, I got talking to mechanic about Zest and Bolt. This is how he summed it up "Sir, TATA produced great cars and then they decided to put that that 'T' on the grill and lost it all."

I think TATA marketing team desperately needs to feel and understand the pulse of their brand, their strategy is just not clicking.

This......

I wonder if TATA seriously need to do a brand makeover for newer passenger cars. The logo and advertisement and everything.


Just like Bajaj changed to a snazzy new logo and moved away from the 'hamara bajaj' campaign with the pulsar.


Leave the Traditional logo for commercial vehicles. Ironically the present passenger car logo itself was new when launched.

Now it just has negative perception attached to it.

[Deblovestodrive]

My takeaways:
- the pattern for the top 5 slots have remained consistent for the past few years - 4 marutis and 1 hyundai.
- I must give credit to Maruti in the way they have been able to dominate the market. The SUVs to be launches this year is going to propel them further towards the 50% market share mark.
- From a price-sensitive market, India is slowly moving towards a value proposition market where the buyers are willing to spend more if that gets their moneys worth. Case in point i20, city, duster.
- Honda looks to be a formidable competitor. Their share will only grow, going forward.
- Tata needs a serious back-to-the-drawing board plan, not just with new car models, but with their image. Whenever I think of buying a tata vehicle, my mind is filled with doubts of its durability, after-sales expertise and too-much of a taxi image. They need to think of a brand makeover- maybe via a new logo, an acquisition in the volume segment space to instill these trust in the customer's mind.

[sonics]

Thanks for this comprehensive report.
Renault - single model company is offering face-lifted Duster and with attractive discounts to continue sailing. They have managed to overtake the rival Ecosport in this month but overall sale in last F.Y. is less than Ecosport.
I read somewhere that they have reduced price further by 30K in month of April for the fear of expected S-Cross taking away the prospective buyers.
These sales figures are certainly very helpful for any novice buyer to decide quickly on filtering out the vehicles of make and model not doing good sales.

[bosporus]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

----
A note on GM:

I has immense respect for the once admired American giant but then, over the years, they have given India nothing.
If you recall this famour saying of King Leonidas in 300:
"Give them Nothing but take from them Everything"

GM sort of believes in this theory as far as India is concerned.
They give us nothing:
a) But old discarded products from US and China
b) Stale SAIC inspired/derived products(Sail/Uva)
c) Old technology

They take from us everything:
a) Land from Govt. at subsidies
b) Cheap labour
c) Operational excellence

They are nothing but irrelevant to India and sooner than later, may be poised to wind up unless radical changes and improvements happen.

I had the ill-fortune of owning an Opel Corsa, and the ownership experience was, by far, the worst ever. I went through 4 service stations in Delhi / Gurgaon, and they were all crooks.
(For examples of cheating service stations, beat this: I call the service station for a problem, on the official line, and the guy on the line says, I'll come to your place & fix it for 50%; I said how, he said I'll take the part out of another car lying here. I take down his name, complain to GM, go to the station a month later for service, and am assigned the same guy, who is needless to say, still working there )

A friend worked in GM at the time, and I finally asked for his recommendation for a service station: he asked the Head of Service, and the reply he got was, don't even go to any service station in Gurgaon; I can personally call them for you but I still don't trust them. In Delhi, he recommended two. I went to the Okhla one (forget the name) and even though he called the GM in advance, I was still cheated, and I still needed an intervention from this friend. Finally, I sold the car. And I swore, never ever to touch anything GM with a bargepole.

Thankfully, with my Vento, (nearly 4 years now) the experience has been stellar. The car had some teething problems initially, but VW has handled them really well. And I love how they go out of their way to delight you.

[RSR]

Thank you for the eagerly awaited monthly sales & analysis thread, Aditya!

39525 units - just 475 vehicles short of the 40k mark. This clearly busts some myths - that Hyundai India cannot sell more than an average of ~ 30k units a month, and that the numbers sold by their new models are all cannibalised from their other models.

The new i20 happens to be the ace in their pack. At 12812 units (including Active variants), it constitutes nearly one-third of their monthly number, and sells almost as many as the BA family (Grand i10 & Xcent) taken together.

This is an example of a manufacturer keenly monitoring the pulse of car buyers and quickly identifying changing customer preferences. Contrary to popular perception, the herd mentality is steadily fading away. Notions like, say "Nearly one million rupees for a hatchback?" or "What will my neighbour/colleague, his uncle/aunt and their pet cat/dog think of me when they learn I spent so much on a hatch?" are clearly getting thrown out of the window for good (about time, too!) A new breed of well-informed, tech savvy buyers are willing to junk such herd ideas, and believe in themselves and their own sense of evaluating a car solely on the basis of its merits & demerits, and judge its value accordingly.

This is a good sign for the market as a whole, and for those manufacturers struggling to make a mark. If they can come up with new products that meet buyers' definition of value-for-money and back it up with solid, widespread support and maintenance costs that don't burn a hole in the pocket, they are bound to succeed. It may not sound easy at first, but once they get the hang of it, they can make progress by leaps and bounds!