[drive2eternity]

Rated 5 stars !!

Its really a Happy Diwali for Maruti and Hyundai.
Renault have played it well, timing the Kwid launch in the festive season.

A few surprises for me:
-Etios sells more than Verna + Vento.

-Omni sells more than VW + Chevrolet.

-WagonR alone doubles entire Honda sales.

-The Grand i10 sells more than all Toyota cars put together.

-Even though Ritz is old and probably being stopped, it still outsells both the Brio and the Bolt.

-Terrano + Duster together can't reach Ecosport numbers.

-And even then, TUV300 has overtaken Ecosport already.

-Someone got a new Prado !

-Dzire outsells all its competitors put together.

-And finally, though the SCross set the TBhp thread on fire, much more than the Creta, the Creta more than doubles the SCross in sales. See the pic below:

[GKMahajan]

Great Report! (As usual....)
Sometimes, I think giving 5 stars to these monthly reports seems 'routine'!
Then I think that - it still deserves 5 starts... You know what I mean!

Is there some way that the business share can be calculated? For example, comparing the numbers of Alto to numbers to Corollas may not be a good enough indicator. Can we also get to compare turnovers?

[LoneRidder]

Great going by all the manufacturers. It’s definitely Happy Diwali time! New entrants TUV 3OO, Kwid, Aspire, Creta are making their presence felt very well. Kwid could be a game changer for Renault!
Very interesting to see Bolero gaining a huge number along with TUV 3OO. Will TUV continue its stroke over EcoSport? To be closely watched!

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Ford needs to do better. Just love their portfolio right now:

Hatch - Figo
Small sedan - Aspire
Mid Size - Fiesta
City SUV - Ecosport
Full Size SUV - Endeavor

Car 2 car...and I mean just car 2 car, I think they are the best or one amongst the best in each segment.

Fiesta has been discontinued till the time all new Fiesta unveiled in the Indian market. So, currently Aspire is playing the bigger role in Ford's sedan portfolio.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Ford needs to do better. Just love their portfolio right now:

Hatch - Figo
Small sedan - Aspire
Mid Size - Fiesta
City SUV - Ecosport
Full Size SUV - Endeavor

Car 2 car...and I mean just car 2 car, I think they are the best or one amongst the best in each segment.

You could discount the Fiesta.
It has been discontinued from the Ford lineup since the last 3 months or so.

[akshatmangal]

Awesome report, gives a good insight into month of october.
I think wagon r, dzire and Ertiga have lot to with taxi market boom. I mean almost every time whenever i have booked Uber or OLA mini, we get wagon R's and more often than not when we book Suv we get either a Xylo or Ertiga.
Is there any way we can find out how many cars go for yellow plate registration. ?

[chennai-indian]

@ balechaparka

Recently Chennai City Police got around 156 Gypsy's and they are very visible on the street - may be one of the reason for the spike in sales

[Hatari]

Post deleted by the Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post messages that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the quality of this forum.

Please read our rules before proceeding any further. We request you to post ONLY when you have something substantial to add to a discussion.

[coolkurt]

Honda has a production capacity of 20k units per month. Isn't that the limiting factor? Honda is probably prioritizing the production of city and amaze

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by drive2eternity

Rated 5 stars !!

Its really a Happy Diwali for Maruti and Hyundai.
Renault have played it well, timing the Kwid launch in the festive season.

A few surprises for me:
-Etios sells more than Verna + Vento.

-Omni sells more than VW + Chevrolet.

Etios: More and more private taxi fleet operators are preferring Etios these days. Toyota's unmatched product and service levels play an important role. For them, it is the next Renault Logan.

Omni: In Pune, School rickshaw drivers are preferring Omni as their next upgrade.

[hybridpetrol]

Checking the effect of the new comers on the existing cars:
a) Renault Kwid:
As expected, this car has sold around 5K, and this can only increase due to the long waiting list.
This little hatch has a lot of potential, and it was generally assumed to bring about a lot of changes in the top ten.
Alto is pushed to 2nd by Dzire. Does that mean Kwid has eaten into Alto's sales?
Hardly. Those who seem to have bought Kwid, just for the freshness it has to offer, and these may not be necessarily the customers who are actually in the market for purchasing an A segment car. Alto is second, not because its sales are falling or stagnant. In fact, its sales are up 10% MoM.
The Kwid first seems to directly target the Eon, and I believe, if they can put more resources, they might be able to ship more more than Eon.

b) Suzuki Baleno:
Started off with 4K. I expected once Baleno is launched, the combined B2 segment cars of Maruti would overtake Hyundai's Grand i10+i20 pair. But not so soon, I think.
Baleno 4.2K + Ritz 1.4K + Swift 17.6K = 23K
Grand i10 = 14K + i20 11K = 25K.
Hyundai is the topper again. Lets wait and see what Nexa can do to Baleno, to increase the sales further. Swift is stagnating at 17K, and if Hyundai tries a little more, Grand i10 can even overtake the mighty Swift in a few months.

c) Hyundai Creta:
Steadily maintaining the 7K numbers. New segment has opened up, and the very fact that the market has shifted is evident as we see a number of Cretas on our roads. Additional Dusters sold this month, can be due to the cross shopping happening for those who come to visit the Kwid. After all, Kwid buyers are not really the ones who saved their 4 lakh rupees for several years to buy their first car! (Think Second car or First time buyers on EMI). Ecosports are doing okay, after their facelift, not spectacular, considering the festive season.

d) Ford Figo / Aspire:
First time in several years Ford is touching 10K, due to this fresh line up. Both of these are brilliant packages, and should start selling more and more. Both cars can easily mix in the crowd, without attracting much attention, though many debate the cars feel tinny (which car in this budget doesn't).

e) Honda Jazz:
It is expected that the sales of Jazz are falling. It is a bit more pricier, considering the competition, and the equipment on offer. However, my own personal opinion: Jazz is one of the most roomier hatchbacks on offer - on par with Vista / Bolt.

f) TUV300
The numbers of Mahindra, if we see are just similar to 6 months ago. What has changed is the new 4.5K selling TUV300 bringing the additional numbers! This is a very good car, and should see a lot more in the roads.

General opinion, in the past few months, there are 3 B2 hatchbacks, released, adding a sales of about 11K B2 hatchbacks. The previous B2 best selling hatchbacks are also selling the same or more numbers. The numbers for these new hatchbacks are coming from a segment below or these are entirely new buyers.

[mukul32]

Rather interesting figures, these. It was the usual stuff at the top, surprisingly, with MS dominating the proceedings. Surprising, because with the arrival of new cars like the Kwid and the Baleno, many had thought the current chart toppers would be under threat.
Many (including yours truly) had already predicted that the Alto would be displaced from the no.1 spot, and it indeed has been the case. The Dzire has taken that spot, and it seems will hold onto it for a while. The Swift, despite its age and heat from the competition, is still managing well over 10K, which is commendable.
Apparently, whatever happens, things do not shuffle too much at the top of the charts. It takes nothing short of a herculean effort to even think of doing so.



For Hyundai, the Creta keeps bringing in the money. However, I feel it is still a huge initial hoopla for the Creta, which may probably last well into the next year as well. But I think once the new car hype dies out and people begin seeing beyond the SUV styling and into the actual car per car value the Creta provides for the price, it may fall down dramatically, like most other high-end Hyundais.
Anywhere else in the world, one would've expected the Creta to get sandwiched right between the well-equipped Verna and the elegant Elantra (the Elantra's failure still shocks me; it is such a well engineered car). Here, the Creta literally murders both at the same time, playing as an SUV, while it is hardly actually one, and despite being only decent-sized for an SUV. Speak of form factor appeal! Similarly, the compact sedans are still going strong (one rules this sales chart, mind you!) despite the arrival of better standard premium hatches.
Perception, my dear friends, still rules!



It's a usual story for most other companies, with Mahindra and Honda posting strong sales, mainly due to their bread-and-butter models. Tata showed promise, but again failed to make a mark. Ford have thoroughly revised their entire lineup, yet are posting just about average numbers. Toyota are again stable in the middle, but they would be laughing away on their way to the bank. The Innova and Fortuner still generate fat profits for them. Renault have the biggest potential right now, but it doesn't seem to convert to momentum. Volkswagen are still way below on the charts, and it doesn't appear like they will rise anytime soon. Fiat are in an even poorer position, but the fanboys will love them even more, due to introduction of Abarth. Skoda and Nissan are just names on the charts, with next to no presence. Shame for such huge companies.

However, there is another obvious fact to note here. Despite every major carmaker having really competent products in the major volume segments, it is the ones who offer better service and showroom experience that are ruling the sales. Maruti, Hyundai, and Honda, who have a well established dealer network and customer service reputation, thus gain on the word-of-mouth promotion too. On the other side, Tata, Ford, Volkswagen, Skoda, Renault, who all have really high quality cars in their stable, are struggling to find buyers. Ford for instance, have got some very good budget cars to offer right now. But their dealers just aren't as good as Maruti or Hyundai ones.

How the showroom treats us affects the buyer more than we'd think. Forget commoners, even many of us BHPians, who are generally far more aware and informed about the market, have admitted moving out of showrooms that may otherwie sell really competent cars, only due to bad treatment by the sales people. The fact that we only go there to book our car from the company is usually forgotten in such circumstances.
People don't just want to buy a car, but buy into a complete ownership experience, even in the lowest of segments. (However, most won't be ready to pay the money for the same.)



Further, at a product-to-product level, the clear preference is to cars that offer more visual bling (and not necessarily design balance), feeling of road presence, form factor appeal ('badi gaadi' effect, as I often say), and gadgetry on the inside, etc. and these are the ones that find the most takers. Apart from the increasing love for chrome by manufacturers, there is another new trend seen recently. The infotainment systems in almost all mass-market cars have also received a lot of attention from manufacturers, and primarily USB and Bluetooth connectivity have been added to all cars via upgrades and facelifts. I won't be surprised if 'This car cannot connect to my smartphone' becomes a reason not to consider buying it at all. (Yes, that's how our public thinks, unfortunately.) And it is often the so-called sophisticated, educated urban audience that have such preferences while making a choice.

Meanwhile, very little attention is given to factors like road manners, high speed stability, refinement, safety, sheet metal quality, etc. The best example of this, the Creta has visual bling, feeling of road presence, form factor appeal, and interior gadgetry all simply nailed. One can see the results.

And in even more expensive 20L+ cars, a similar trend can be seen. The Fortuner being the best example. What is essentially a hardy pickup-based SUV intended to handle off-roading and rough usage, and used for the same in most other countries, has become the ultimate 'show-off car' here. Want to announce yourself? Buy a Fortuner. Everyone- rich businessmen, politicians, celebrities, drives one. The actual purpose of the Fortuner has long been forgotten, the 4WD lever is never touched, and now we want soft touch interiors and touchscreen systems and automatics in the Fortner (and other such SUV's. Trailblazer also came here in 2WD only). Toyota will only happily oblige, they sell every single one for about 30 big ones.
Hence, Buying a car is still very much a prestige issue, education, awareness, and financial status no bar.



Although, the one place where buyers and manufacturers are showing maturity is the entry level segment. It just keeps getting better and better with every new car that comes on the block setting new standards of something. The Alto K10 redefined performance for a budget car, the Eon aesthetic appeal and interior quality, and now the Kwid is proving that cheap cars need not be tiny-sized compromises. Maruti also gave the Alto an AMT, not forcing the customer to buy more expensive cars for the same (they could have very well done that). Datsun compromised too much with the Go, and they were punished. The RediGo now shows more promise than before. Tata also worked hard endlessly with the Nano to make it acceptable to customers. And the Kite also appears to be a thorough effort. In short, The budget cars are really getting better, and need to be taken seriously.



Now, if we take the inferences from every paragraph (at the end in italics), and list them together, it makes for a nice little five-pointer that I hope helps to get a better picture of the buying trends in recent times:-
#1. Whatever happens, things do not shuffle too much at the top of the charts. It takes nothing short of a herculean effort to even think of doing so.
#2. Perception and popular opinion is something that still rules.
#3. People don't just want to buy a car, but buy into a complete ownership experience, even in the lowest of segments.
#4. Buying a car is still very much a prestige issue, education, awareness, and financial status no bar.
#5. The budget cars are really getting better, and need to be taken seriously.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Verna is a good car. Why does not it sell in the first 20?

And is Hyundai doing something to increase the sales of this car or have they surrendered to City?

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Verna is a good car. Why does not it sell in the first 20?

Simple. It is not that good enough now. With latest entrants like new City and Ciaz, Verna lost the charm. Problem with too-loud bling in design, IMO.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Verna is a good car. Why does not it sell in the first 20? And is Hyundai doing something to increase the sales of this car or have they surrendered to City?

A mere change of grill and head lamp won't help Verna's cause. What it needs is a total change like what Honda made to the City.