[volkman10]

Originally Posted by ravradha

In the medium term I foresee Hyundai closing the gap with Maruti.

If you see Hyundai's MOM figures they have lost Volumes on almost all their cars except Creta, being a new launch!

[AveekKumar]

The problem with TATA Motors is very simple. I say this based on my experience with an Indica for 10 years now.
1. The service representatives in A.S.S. don't know anything. At least in Pune, they are pathetic. I have given my car to 3 service stations so far and the experience has been the same everywhere. Temporary solutions is all they know of, and any issue requires a part change.
2. Mindset of people in general is still the same. TATA is a low-class manufacturer. Cab kaun khareedega. Nano? by the time you reach your destination, the car will fall off. I find these statements very harsh. But gives you the big picture.

Who goes for a TATA vehicle? Does it give you peace of mind? Yes, till you encounter an issue.
Is it value of money? Yes, considering the pricing of the competitors.
Will you buy a TATA? No, I am not cheap.

[sadsack]

I think the Dzire and its sales coming in highest for a second month in a row have seen most of the posts being made about and of those a number of them insist that it is being sold as a Taxi. I am not sure about this. I have not seen a new (read the under 4M) Dzire as a taxi. All the ones that I have seen as taxis are Dzire Tour models. Is Maruti still producing this? And if it is are sales of the Tour being added to the Dzire numbers? Even if that is the case, it will be second only to the Alto, which also sells in 2 guises.

A lot has been said about GM, Renault-Nissan, Fiat, Ford, Tata and Hyundai as well. Hyundai is there and there about but the rest are going down real fast. Ford's Alan Mullaly had said that Ford would launch 8 new models by 2015. Of which two have been launched and of those one has bombed (Fiesta) while the other (Ecosport) is doing alright. Now GM says 10 models in 5 years.

I think what we are all missing out is the recessionary trend that has crept back into the global economy and this time around China too has taken a pretty big hit in the manufacturing sector in particular and the overall economy in general. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has been cautioning for sometime that the world could see depression levels go down to what they were in the great economic depression of 1929. Rajan is an intelligent man and he knows what he is talking about. He had no qualms in telling the PM that this was not the right to make in India and so the slogan is a bad one. He did say that the Indian economy for the time being is relatively insulated from large scale collapses. But the point is that it too has entered the depressive cycle.

When a depressive cycle comes into being the ability to purchase goes down and usually companies that are not visible take a hit first. The automobile (especially cars) is not a priority sector for most people. It is therefore possible that many are deferring their purchases and those who are going ahead are putting their money in known, trusted brands like Maruti, Honda and Hyundai. Honda is juggling its products on the assembly line due to lack of capacity and therefore their dispatches to the dealers are not consistent. They are prioritising those products that are likely to sell. The Brio and the Mobilio are the ones that have become the victims of the juggling.

I don't know if this is good time for Renault to launch the Kwid. If the recessionary cycle continues people will not buy the Kwid in huge numbers. It will add to the lack of success of the Go and the Go+. Mahindra also is not poised to take off and become number one. Other than the Bolero and to an extent the Scorpio (and maybe the XUV 500) are selling in decent numbers but the sales are declining. I see the Bolero's sales declining further since many parts of India have had a bad monsoon and the agriculture sector is set for a nightmare. If that happens, the Bolero which is a rural favourite will see even lesser numbers. Interesting times since with the exception of Maruti all the other car makers are feeling some turbulence. Lets wait and see.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by sadsack

I think the Dzire and its sales coming in highest for a second month in a row have seen most of the posts being made about and of those a number of them insist that it is being sold as a Taxi. I am not sure about this. I have not seen a new (read the under 4M) Dzire as a taxi. All the ones that I have seen as taxis are Dzire Tour models. Is Maruti still producing this? And if it is are sales of the Tour being added to the Dzire numbers?

Maruti sells Dzire tour and for July it is declared as 3370. I guess in the numbers shown here it is included in the Dzire figures.

[Carpainter]

Chevy Spark numbers are low. In July it is nil. Is it because of low demand or have they stopped this car silently.

Surprisingly low numbers for Fiesta+classic. Not just in July but in the last three consecutive months these two cars combined didn't cross even 100. That's strange. Such a good car being wasted.

Mobilio numbers are going down every month. With new competitions inbound, times are not rosy for the car.

i20 is the highest selling car for Hyundai for quite some time now. Easily surpassing Grand i10 by healthy margins.

I think with new Scorpio, Mahindra could not manage to create much waves in the market. Numbers are not as impressive as before. Same is the case with xuv5oo.

Ciaz numbers are down. Is it because of S-cross. All other cars are business as usual. One point to be noted is Dzire outsells Alto. I guess it's the cab effect. Anyone?

[GunjanArora]

Originally Posted by arvi86

Dzire is a good car no doubt but I honestly feel the Xcent in petrol and the Amaze and Zest in diesel are better choices. A relative of mine was in the market recently with a budget of around INR 8 Lakhs. No amount of convincing from my side was enough to make him look out of Maruti stable. He has been a highly-satisfied Maruti 800 customer for more than a decade and half and he bought the Dzire eyes closed. No test drives, no competitors checked out, nothing! Think of it, there are thousands and thousands of Indians like him. I'm not surprised the Dzire is the king of the sales charts.

That example is Bang on. I am in the same boat with budget of around 8 lakhs and despite being more open in terms of brands, the one that suits me most is Dzire. Here are the cars I considered/test drove:
> Xcent- Looks like a toy, specially from the rear,
> Amaze - Feels Tinny and low quality,
> Zest - Well so many features and a brilliant car but the horror stories from Tata owners are too much of a deterrent
> Polo - Cramped rear seat
> i20 elite- Diesel barely fits my budget and has long waiting period in my city, not keen on i20 petrol
> Aspire - Have been waiting for such a long time that my interest is almost dead in it
> Ecosport - The ecoboost and titanium(even trend) diesel is over my budget, 1.5 Petrol returns very low mileage

Now planning to book a Dzire around October

[rajneeesh]

We have now entered the "Silly Season" with a large number of new vehicles getting launched. The Jazz and the two crossovers from the top manufacturers will be followed by the Baleno and the TUV 3OO, the Kite Twins & the Figo Aspire.

We can expect wild swings for a few more months before things start to settle down. The C segment sedans will probably see higher sales as the Creta and S Cross are priced much higher. Let us see how does Figo Aspire fare in the fiersely competitive entry level sedan segment.

I also see Duster, Scorpio, S Cross and the XUV pulling in greater numbers. These products now look VFM compared to the SCross and the Creta.

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by GunjanArora

Now planning to book a Dzire around October

If you're booking in October, please check out the Figo Aspire before taking a decision. I checked out the Aspire for a friend and can confirm that it is the best diesel sub 4m sedan out there.

[anky]

Originally Posted by GunjanArora

That example is Bang on. I am in the same boat with budget of around 8 lakhs and despite being more open in terms of brands, the one that suits me most is Dzire. Here are the cars I considered/test drove:

Now planning to book a Dzire around October

Hey ! Gunjan , I own a dzire and amaze for the past two years .

I wont influence your decision to buy either of your choices listed in your post , but just check the rear seat of the dzire , if a reasonably tall person occupies the driver and passenger seat , the rear legroom for the passengers on the back seat is almost nil .

My Amaze seats 4/5 people much better than my dzire .

[Prafful_Rathod]

Originally Posted by Carpainter

Surprisingly low numbers for Fiesta+classic. Not just in July but in the last three consecutive months these two cars combined didn't cross even 100. That's strange. Such a good car being wasted.

It seems they have stopped production of Classic from June, which was selling in some nos. The Fiesta as such is hardly 10% of total Fiesta+Classic sale.

[Anurag.Bansal]

Once again Swift family has rocked the charts and with almost 42000 units per month among Dzire and Swift its a blockbuster performance. Alto and Wagon-R still going strong. Maruti now holds over 50% market share which is quite a wonderful job considering launch of so many products from other manufacturers.

I expect Creta to do some serious damage to the likes of Scorpio, Duster and Terrano. It will even affect voulemes of Verna and Ciaz as well. Scorpio will survive due to its strongholding in rural areas. We have to wait and watch for Creta's actual impact for next 3 months. According to me it is priced slightly higher (approx 1 Lakh high) or it could have been a real rockstar for Hyundai. Ford Ecosport shall hold its numbers since it is a good product and actually does not compete directly in this segment rather it belongs to the lower segment according to me.

Steadily falling numbers of Zest and Bolt is a real heartbreak. TATA numbers still holiding up at 10k becoz of Indica and Indigo sales in Taxi segment.

Innova still going strong for Toyota but they need to do something more than that. A sedan and an SUV in the range of 10-12 Lakhs shall do the trick for them.

Honda numbers stabilised at 18000. Don't know whether it is some production constraint or what but this is the trend in last 2 months. Jazz will impact numbers of Amaze or Amaze will affect sales of Jazz that only time will tell but if both models survive with good numbers, Honda's monthly sales can easily cross 20000+ vehicles.

All others continue to loose so no comments as their strategy is not clear. Volkswagen, Ford, Nissan+Renault+Go, all three now at 4000 bracket. Chevrolet continues its downward trend and now slipping to a volume of 2000+ only.

[rsidd]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Just an idea for Fiat. If they can stretch the Punto a bit,say another 300 mm, not compromising on the handling and charge another 1 Lakh. They will have a bigger car with more rear leg space.
This coupled with their 4 year warranty will be an enthusiasts dream.
I love my Punto and have always wished for a little more space.

I'm not convinced there will be a market for such a thing (cf the original Honda Jazz). If they could move the rear seat back a little, eating into the boot space and keeping the total length below 4m, then maybe. (But I personally bought it partly for the boot space -- at that time only Figo and Polo were comparable).

This is also why they backed off introducing the Bravo, despite seriously considering it at one point.

If Abarth gets some traction in the market, I wonder if Fiat should consider introducing the Lancia or Alfa Romeo brands here? It looks like Fiat is not interested in introducing a low-cost India-specific car (a la Figo or Pulse) -- Punto is as downmarket as it is going to get. At the same time they are not introducing the Bravo, Panda or 500(X,L) series, which would all be priced higher than the Punto (except maybe the Panda but it would not be much cheaper). It may make sense to target the upmarket crowd who may see Fiat's other brands as more aspirational than Fiat itself.

[FIAT3031]

Originally Posted by volkman10

If you see Hyundai's MOM figures they have lost Volumes on almost all their cars except Creta, being a new launch!

Somehow the trend for Hyundai seems to focus on the new launches while forgetting the older existing models.

[simplyself]

Originally Posted by AveekKumar

The problem with TATA Motors is very simple. I say this based on my experience with an Indica for 10 years now.
1. The service representatives in A.S.S. don't know anything.......
Will you buy a TATA? No, I am not cheap.

Add to this the Sales Representatives too. One was explaining to me the peripheral features like steering mounted controls, etc on his tab while there was a car right beside us in the showroom. He should have been focussing on the space, steering, stance and most important for Tata, the 3 year / 45 K km maintenance package (Silver AMC) to boost confidence of the prospective customer.

They goofed up on the AMC bit. In the price list they quoted Rs.8 K for AMC but that turned out to be Gold AMC which includes non - scheduled spares too. At the time of taking delivery, they didnt have certificate for the optional extended warranty and after a couple of mails to the TML, they sent me a letter stating that I had bought the extended warranty for Manza.

Will I buy a Tata? I bought one 19 K km ago. No issues till date, rides like a dream, returns fairly good mileage of 19-20 kmpl, pampers me in comfort.

Am I cheap? That is the moot point.

[vishnugs]

Hey what happened to Renault Lodgy. There is tremendous sales effort but the numbers are in inverse to this effort. Another failure attempt on dethroning Innova ?