[AshBabu]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

He also reasoned that airbags or a crash worthy structure (Hope I'm saying that correctly) aren't needed as we are not going to use the car for racing

Unfortunately this seems to be the thoughts prevailing in our country.

We generally don't consider safety aspect like airbags etc. a must for our cars. Perhaps the underlying thought is that nothing harm will happen to me, but only to the others, is the root cause for it.

This is reason most people ignore wearing seat belt or avoid using helmets. It is really a long way for us to go in spreading the awareness of safety among our people.

[wadewilson]

Originally Posted by AshBabu

Unfortunately this seems to be the thoughts prevailing in our country...We generally don't consider safety aspect like airbags etc. a must for our cars... It is really a long way for us to go in spreading the awareness of safety among our people.

Sad but true, I have to agree with you on that one. Hopefully by 2017, with moderate stricter norms in place, we will get there.. eventually. Here's hoping people's mindset change for the better as well

[rambo1o1]

I just hope Ford is reading this thread.
Thousand odd Figos and Aspires in a segment where competitors easily see 4k+ each really drives home the point that the figo twins are duds!

I dont know if a revival of sorts like the Ecosport will increase sales exponentially since the Ecosport is a true competitor while the aspire does the same thing others do, nothing to stand out amongst the crowd except that diesel engine.
It has lost its build quality and handling but has a more comfortable ride quality just like its competitors. Its not high on features,average petrol engine, decent but not class leading in space and priced close to other competitors, not like the old figos blockbuster pricing that gave it the launch pad to success.

Ford really should find a working model to incentivise their dealers to garner more bookings.Forget Dealer attitude even during sales are pathetic,puts off many prospective buyers.Toyota dealer attitude seems to be the best even though they hardly make money on servicing since their service charges are cheap and cars rarely need part replacement outside warranty.

Ford needs a new top management to infuse some new life into their Indian operations.Current one hasn't learned much from the old figos success.
The old figo still has reliability issues after 4-5 years and ford has been slow or done nothing to increase its reliability, and this too ads to new buyers skepticism of the extent of Fords cost cutting.

Originally Posted by wadewilson

I guess that could be one of the factors. Plus, the fact that Ford is still seen as an expensive investment might be putting some people off I guess.

Actually, I had even asked them to give me a cash discount and they said that they would give me about 20,000 Rupees cash discount.

Unfortunately, I couldn't convince my father who tried comparing the Figo with his Honda City (which is 15 years old now). I tried telling dad that the Figo was, despite being a good performer an able mile muncher, and it gave above 20+ KMPL. Unfortunately despite this and my continued sermons to him about the car, dad said that his Honda's suspension is far more superior as it was soft and not hard like the diesel Figo. He also reasoned that airbags or a crash worthy structure (Hope I'm saying that correctly) aren't needed as we are not going to use the car for racing

Dad instead suggested to he would buy a second hand Honda City of 2003 .....

I think you should let your Dad read the accident thread and then i am sure he would atleast start to think a little more on safety, sometimes our Dads need some graphical images to get them out of their vintage cocoons.

You'll find end number of accidents where the victims were driving slowly(not racing!) on the left lane and a drunk/over speeding car rams into them.

Im not going to dwell much into the merits of the Old Honda city vs new figo, but i can say with some confidence that the new figos suspension isnt stiff/hard anymore, its more main stream / softer.

Anyways, I would still feel the figo will be more safer/upmarket then the Kwid but since you have already decided on the kwid, wishing you many miles of blissful driving.

[josebi]

Great compilation, thanks for the figures.

Wonder why HM-Mitsubiishi is still running the show with just a lone product in its portfolio. That shows their focus in the Indian market.

Price correction has helped EcoSport regain its position;
KUV in around 5000 (eager to see if this can be sustained), TUV another 2600, Brezza ready to take on the compact SUV market, shows the Indian car buyers inclination towards the compact SUVs.

Not a single Tata model sold more than 2000. Sales of the much hyped Zest / Bolt has come down drastically. I fear something similar with Tiago as well. Now they should concentrate more on Indica to woo taxi owners and to regain its position, seems they are gradually loosing that also to Ritz.

Renault got a winner in Kwid, good move. but I feel Renault will not be happy to see the lukewarm response on its Duster facelift. They missed the chance to showcase this wonderful product with the right set of features and better interiors. People are happy to go with Creta / XUV for these reasons even though Duster has it strong points in various quarters. The recent price correction of EcoSport and the enthusiasm created by Brezza will also have adverse effect on Duster.

Fiat can focus on its engine business in India.

Datsun sold better than Skoda in numbers, and close to its parent company Nissan.

[vishnurp99]

Just had a quick point to make on Ford since i have been using Ford cars for a long time now.

For me, Ford lost out on it's brand promise and that's why Aspire/Figo new gen is not selling. Ford was known for it's ride/handling combo and solid build quality. Mileage and ASS was always average.

I believe that it's possible to segment the Indian car public on the basis of what they are looking for. Now Ford has been always been catering to the more discerning customer who was focused on Ride/handling combo and solid build quality.

This segment is different from what the Maruti/Hyundai caters to - the mileage conscious/A-B commute crowd. Ford tried to make a Maruti Ford or Hyundai Ford if that is not an oxymoron. This has unfortunately resulted in the product not catering to both the segments and going away from the Brand promise that Ford had build up over years.

Poor sales is just a natural outcome of this.

[nilpat]

Originally Posted by sudheeshnairs

I would say Ford should follow up with their prospects & enquiries and be sincere in those attempts. They feel to be laggards, as far as my experience with the dealers in Bangalore are concerned

Agree this is where I was coming too(Practically) . If they really encourage dealership/sales people by throwing incentives like Hyundai do. I will not wonder if inquiry to sales conversion rate is more than 90% considering good products in hand.

Originally Posted by sudheeshnairs

I had first visited 'Elite Ford' at Marthahalli Bangalore some 7-8 months back. That time I checked for ASPIRE/FIGO, but price lists and other details were not out. Later somebody called me from the dealer, then I told him I am interested in Ecosport AT and would like to have a test drive as well as brochure/price lists. My office is just about 1.5 kms from the dealership on the Outer Ring Road, but they never bothered to get back to me.

Recently I logged in to the Ford Website, booked for a test drive. I got a call from another dealer, Metro Ford and I requested the sales guy to bring the car to my office for test drive and he agreed. The same day I had requested for VW Polo GT TSI also. VW sales person called me and turned up at my place. I was delighted by Polo GT TSI too. The Ford sales guy didn't turn up nor bothered to call me to apprise. I got pissed off and didn't call them back.

For me it was a positive sales experience at Talera Ford (Nigadi) Pune. It was kind of door to door service.

Originally Posted by sudheeshnairs

Anyway as of now the choice is between Polo GT TSI and Baleno, if not S Cross or Brezza

I suggest you should really narrow down your search as per your needs since all above vehicles are of different league.

Hi vishnurp99, This might be very good logic but it will be very early to come to this conclusion. There are cases when people dropped Marutis and Hyundais(myself) and chosen for New Figo brand which is I think still very good package of everything one aspire for. Also there are cases who has upgraded from old Figos to newer ones Are we coming to any conclusion here? I think No. I would say lets wait and watch in longer run

[wadewilson]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

I think you should let your Dad read the accident thread and then i am sure he would atleast start to think a little more on safety, sometimes our Dads need some graphical images to get them out of their vintage cocoons.

Haha, That's a good idea, maybe it'll help him get out of his cocoon. Also, He's telling me to sell off the Kwid now that I just bought it, he said, sell it off and I'll give you some extra money to buy the VW Polo. It has airbags and is much more safer than the Kwid right?

Seriously Dad, now you tell me?

You'll find end number of accidents where the victims were driving slowly(not racing!) on the left lane and a drunk/over speeding car rams into them.

My dad was also a victim of such an accident. I think mentioning the accident over and over to him and bringing out the benefits of airbags and safety features might make him change his mind and hopefully, the next car we purchase will be a lot more safer.

Im not going to dwell much into the merits of the Old Honda city vs new figo, but i can say with some confidence that the new figos suspension isnt stiff/hard anymore, its more main stream / softer.

Exactly, I too felt the that the suspension was softer and more in line with other mass market hatches. Ah, Dads and their vintage cocoons, what more can I say, lol

Anyways, I would still feel the figo will be more safer/upmarket then the Kwid but since you have already decided on the kwid, wishing you many miles of blissful driving.

To tell you the truth, my heart cringes everytime I see the new Ford Figo out on the streets, the car just felt right to me in so many aspects but well, guess we got to make the best of what we have. Thank you for your well wishes buddy

[volkman10]

Renault's KWID might be its wonder kid but Renault has a big problem at hand. In fiscal yr 2016 it has 3 of its models in the 10 least selling models.
In Fiat's case it is no surprise - Two of the 3 models in its portfolio finds a place in the chart- Linea and Avventura .



http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes...-list/51888232

[GTO]

Ram Khedkar shares the following observation via email:

One can see that, Maruti is losing numbers for the Baleno compared to Elite i20. However, that is actually not the case. Actual production of Made-in-India Baleno is 11,836 which is higher than the Elite i20!

Maruti has started exporting the Baleno hatchback in January to Europe & Japan, leading to lower supplies in the domestic market, a consistent fall since December. There could be issues in ramping up component supplies from the vendors, it seems. Initial target was to increase total production to 150,000 units, out of which 100,000 is for the domestic market and the rest for exports!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by GTO

Ram Khedkar shares the following observation via email:

Explained neatly in the below article from Business standard. Maruti is running full capacity at Manesar and struggling to balance it out between the export and domestic demand.



http://wap.business-standard.com/art...1400118_1.html

Hope they keep in mind the example of Ford Ecosport where they neglected the domestic market for too long to push exports that the demand came down meanwhile.

Another article for the Baleno below-

http://indianautosblog.com/2016/04/m...traints-228395

[sudheeshnairs]

Originally Posted by nilpat

I suggest you should really narrow down your search as per your needs since all above vehicles are of different league.

The common factor is that all are available at ex showroom price of 7-10 lakhs and basically hatch or grown up hatch. And by nature and performance too, they are closely matched right?

Perhaps in its true sense, only VW GT TSI would be the odd man to stand out being a niche product, performance oriented and modern tech.

[arun_josie]

Due to the low Aspire numbers, I think Ford has started selling Aspire to taxi segment as well. I spotted couple of yellow board Aspire.

[Baddychat]

Originally Posted by Ahmed

Fortuner is taking a dive. Time for new Fortuner's inception in Indian market. Ford should increase the dispatches of the new Endeavor and get the most juice out of the newbie.

Party due to what you said and also due to the ban on registration of 2000cc + vehicles in NCR. That must have resulted in lower factory dispatches.

[nilpat]

Originally Posted by sudheeshnairs

The common factor is that all are available at ex showroom price of 7-10 lakhs and basically hatch or grown up hatch. And by nature and performance too, they are closely matched right?

If your talking from monetary and engine capacity perspective and other factors/features are not so important for you then Yes. Probably you should go for Brezza now since you already own hatch and sedan as well.

Originally Posted by sudheeshnairs

Perhaps in its true sense, only VW GT TSI would be the odd man to stand out being a niche product, performance oriented and modern tech.

Yes Indeed being German Manufacturer.