Re: December 2015 : Indian Car Sales Figures & Analysis Quote:
Originally Posted by RSR
I'm terribly, utterly disappointed with the market's response to the new Ford Figo & Aspire.
Here we have a manufacturer offering 6 airbags + ABS (or 2 airbags + ABS + ESP + TC, depending on the variant) in two cars when even those from sub-segments above don't have them. Not to mention the stonking & blisteringly quick 100 PS 1.5 diesel motor. Or a 6-speed dual clutch transmission coupled with a 112 PS 1.5 petrol engine, when no other car has anything more than a 1.2 litre petrol engine in these sub-segments. All in cars that tip the scale at a substantial 1000 kg plus for most variants.
And the market response? It has been rather ordinary. It's this kind of stupid market response to such cars with brilliant safety features that makes manufacturers conclude the Indian market doesn't value safety. Just pathetic!
By the way, the new Figo twins were not affected by the Chennai floods, as they're being rolled out of the new Sanand plant. It's the EcoSport whose dispatches would have been affected by the floods.
The Figo twins certainly deserve to succeed in a big way! Only then will the Indian market get better safety features in the sub-1 million rupee price range. |
I personally think that (in Team Bhp terminology) there are several 'Small but significant factors' that are resulting in the poor sales. - The build and handling are not 'Typical Ford'. They should not have stepped away from the USP's that they are known for here. This has caused Ford regulars also to be disappointed and look elsewhere. I had a look at the Baleno recently and it definitely 'feels' more solid that the Figo. My father in law had a prev gen Figo as a company car, this was recently replaced with the new Figo and he is not at all happy. Not like the Ford he knows is his opinion. I see this as a trend.
- As already discussed, marketing and dealer experience. Personal Experiences: I went with my friend to book a Figo DCT and the dealer refused to book when we said we may want to take insurance outside. My friend is a Ford guy so booked with another dealer. But again the followups have been poor and he his thinking to switch to the GT TSI. Also, was looking for an AT for my sister in law. They refused to consider the Figo DCT purely because of the very bad experience they had at the dealer when they visited a couple of times earlier.
- The ordinary petrol engine. Apart from the 6 airbag variant, there is no real reason to buy the manual Figo petrol. We are not mature enough to prioritize 6 airbags over other requirements or overlook some deficiencies just for the airbags.
- The fast diesel is a major USP, but again for a regular buyer, the differenciation with the Jazz/i20/Baleno will not be huge.
- The Baleno effect: I think this is the single biggest reason. The Baleno is one of Maruti's better products. And Maruti went one up on Ford by making both Airbags and ABS standard on all variants. The Baleno feels better built than the Figo, is priced well and the light weight makes the petrol a peppy one. I personally was not able to justify the Figo over the Baleno to 2 friends who asked my opinion.
In summary, Ford has a good product with a few USP's. But the competition is fierce and they really need to be on the button to ensure that the few USP's are constantly in a buyers mind. Any small slip and the customer will go to a competitor. I guess that is what is happening now. My personal experiences also indicate this trend.
The good part on safety is that most manufacturers have picked up the trend started by Ford. The biggest culprit with respect to safety-Maruti, now offers ABS and Airbags pretty much across all main products in the sub 10 L range. If not by default, at least as an option. Hyundai has started to follow suit with the i20 and Verna. Mahindra is doing it with the TUV300 and KUV100. VW and Toyota have always been offering it. Overall I think we made good progress with respect to the safety aspects. Hoping in 2016, 6 airbags will start to become common. Coming to the sales numbers: - Kwid goes past EON. I guess this is the first time Eon has been displaced from that 2nd position. Hope Renault can sustain this. But no real impact to the Alto.
- Celerio continuing to pick up. Since the majority of the Celerio sales are AMT, would be interesting to see the impact of the Wagon R AMT on Celerio over the next few months.
- Wagon R, Swift and Grand i10 motoring along. Would be interesting to see if the Zica and the KUV100 can pull some numbers from any of these. Tough segment to enter into.
- Baleno rocking the premium hatch segment. Elite i20 not really impacted. Looks like Baleno is pulling numbers from the Figo and Jazz. Would be interesting to see the trend here.
- Compact Sedans continues its flip flop run. Numbers look low this month from the Amaze/Xcent and even Dzire. Aspire struggling, so is the Zest. Looking forward to see what VW can do with the Ameo. Looking at the segment, looks like a suicidal move. But need to wait and see.
- Surprising drop for the Ciaz. Wonder what caused that?. Verna drops further to 5th place even behind the Rapid and Vento (May be due to Chennai floods or the upcoming refresh?). Rapid is above the Vento and at ~1400 units, pretty healthy numbers for a very good product backed by poor manufacturer/dealer network. Guess if someone else was selling the Rapid, it would have been a threat to the biggies.
- Good number for the Creta inspite of the flood impact. TUV300 continues its solid run, S Cross numbers continue to be poor by Maruti Standards. Duster hanging on, the 2016 refresh with AMT should definitely help.
- Good to see the Lodgy picking up a bit. Offers are helping. Seeing several on the roads now. I think it deserves better.
- Generally quiet D Segment. Seems to be a stagnant segment.
- Zero Trailblazer dispatches? Pretty bad for a new product.
Overall in 2015,among the large number of launches, we saw the Baleno, Kwid, Creta and TUV300 getting into the Top 20 and sustaining/improving the launch numbers. Special kudos to Renault for managing that with the Kwid.
2016 promises to be another interesting battle with the large number of launches lined up. Will need to wait and see by the end of 2016 which ones are able to capture the buyer attention and which ones will become 'me too or niche products.
Last edited by Rajeevraj : 10th January 2016 at 16:19.
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