[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by smartcat

I have not seen Maruti Ertiga with a commercial plate either (probably because Maruti doesn't allow commercial sales?)

Goa has plenty of Ertigas with Yellow plates.

In fact, In Bangalore, you can visit Velankani Tech Park (next to Crown Plaza E City) and will spot good number of these too. I am not sure of the operator but this company inside the campus has a fleet.

But in Goa, due to the shrinking (further) difference between Petrol and Diesel prices, you will notice a good number of Petrol Ertigas as well.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Now let's look at the models that have tried and failed in the commercial taxi segment...

Chevrolet Enjoy
Nissan Evalia
Renault Lodgy
Honda Mobilio

The cars you've listed have failed not because they were monocoques. The Enjoy flopped because it was half-baked, the Evalia was cargo-van'ish backed by Nissan, the Lodgy was simply not positioned well and the Mobilio was overpriced.

Take a look at the Ertiga. It's successful among cabbies. Two other successful monocoque commercial vehicles are the Omni & Eeco.

Body-on-frames are more robust, yes. They can handle bad roads, overloading and offroading much better. But for the kind of usage that a typical cab sees (primarily on-road), there won't be much of a difference. Remember, the best selling taxis in the world (Corolla, E-Class, Leaf etc.) are all monocoques. Don't we have Swifts on the forum itself which have covered well over 2 lakh km without any issues?

Originally Posted by invidious

The seats at the back offer about as much legroom as the Dzire. Even the fit and finish seems to be rather spartan.

The Lodgy needs better cushioned seats and a sliding middle row. Other than that, there's no faulting it as a taxi. It's ride quality at low speeds / over broken roads is even better than the Innova.

[Passiautonate]

Originally Posted by smartcat

I have a theory that commercial cab owners are drawn towards high-riding body-on-frame MPVs with heavy doors and rugged looks. I think fleet owners feel that such vehicles will last for a long time. Just look at the list of successful commercial people carriers -

Force Trax
Tata Sumo
Toyota Qualis
Toyota Innova
Chevrolet Tavera
Mahindra Xylo

Now let's look at the models that have tried and failed in the commercial taxi segment - common denominator is that all of them are low-riding monocoque people carriers with light build. Fleet owners probably think that these vehicles will fall apart after a few years.

Chevrolet Enjoy
Nissan Evalia
Renault Lodgy
Honda Mobilio (Yes, I have taken the liberty of adding it here although Honda just allowed Commercial vehicle sales)

I have not seen Maruti Ertiga with a commercial plate either (probably because Maruti doesn't allow commercial sales?)

Both Mobilio and Ertiga are in TAXI segment. I myself have seen/seated in both. May be they never picked up owing to space/ size associated with 7 seater and hatchback like appearance as you rightly mentioned (no rugged look). I doubt anyone would pay 14-15 re. per km for these as commonly demanded by Bangalore operators for Innova/ Xylo.

[balajisv]

Originally Posted by invidious

The car which I think has a genuine shot at occupying the space vacated by the outgoing Innova by offering similar comfort at a lower price point is Tata Aria. But it seems to have been abandoned by the parent company.

The Aria's new avatar as Hexa is up for a launch soon. It is sure to be a worthy competitor to the now pricey Innova.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

2. This price drop will effectively kill the 110 PS version... uncertainty if that would too get a price correction in the near future.

No cabbie is going to buy the 110 PS version. They should just stop producing it now. Renault has effectively divided the models as:
1. Taxi models: 85 PS
2. Private models: 85 or 110 PS.

That said, this is a really good move. I think they should just introduce the sliding middle row and they're good to attract a lot of cabbies.

Originally Posted by GTO

However, things still won't be easy as flops rarely ever recover in the market

I think they should just use this punch line in Ads: "From the makers of the Logan...." (Provided they can do so without Mahindra suing them)

And also put these ads in the regional papers and regional language TV.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by GTO

The cars you've listed have failed not because they were monocoques. The Enjoy flopped because it was half-baked, the Evalia was cargo-van'ish backed by Nissan, the Lodgy was simply not positioned well and the Mobilio was overpriced.

Take a look at the Ertiga. It's successful among cabbies. Two other successful monocoque commercial vehicles are the Omni & Eeco.

Body-on-frames are more robust, yes. They can handle bad roads, overloading and offroading much better. But for the kind of usage that a typical cab sees (primarily on-road), there won't be much of a difference. Remember, the best selling taxis in the world (Corolla, E-Class, Leaf etc.) are all monocoques. Don't we have Swifts on the forum itself which have covered well over 2 lakh km without any issues?



The Lodgy needs better cushioned seats and a sliding middle row. Other than that, there's no faulting it as a taxi. It's ride quality at low speeds / over broken roads is even better than the Innova.

What does a Taxi fella look for?

1. Comfort
2. Cheap and easy to maintain
3. Sturdy and solid and reliable
4. Reasonably Fuel efficient
5. Capacious/ Spacious

This is why Skoda cars are pretty common in the UK as Taxis, as are Toyotas in UAE and Australia and India (Etios), and Marutis in India too and Fords in the US and Mercs in Germany and other parts of EU. Renaults and suchlike in Turkey etc.

[drmohitg]

But there is also the issue of cab rent and preference. An Innova might be overpriced. But as a customer I am not paying that amount. But at the same time I don't mind paying marginally extra rent for an Innova cab compared to others. So the cabbies are also forced to opt for maximum number of Innovas in their fleet since that is what the end customer is demanding.

[Deo]

This is an official price cut from Renault, but you walk into any Renault showroom and ask about Lodgy, they have good discounts on 110 PS as well. This from a personal experience, when my father-in-law picked one up for on road price less than 11 L, that too 7-seater Stepway version with all the bells and whistles.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Deo

This is an official price cut from Renault, but you walk into any Renault showroom and ask about Lodgy, they have good discounts on 110 PS as well. This from a personal experience, when my father-in-law picked one up for on road price less than 11 L, that too 7-seater Stepway version with all the bells and whistles.

This was mentioned by a Renault salesman when I went to check out the Lodgy. For a short period of time, there was a discount of Rs. 4 Lacs on top end 110 Lodgy. Most probably a stock clearance sale because that discount is no longer there.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

"From the makers of the Logan...."

Or provide a facelift and get the lodgy to join the same gym as the Duster. A beefier front end inspired by the Duster and some body claddings can really help them take on the likes of the Honda BRV instead of fighting it out in the struggling MUV space.

Lodgy Stepway followed these footsteps but was too mild in the crossover execution, while Honda went all out transforming the Mobilio and it shows.

[arunmichael]

The other day i saw a video in Youtube where a Lodgy logged 30+kmpl. With a starting price of 7.58L Renault is clearly targeting the taxi segment. A large number of IT companies provide cab (innova/tavera/xylo) facilities to their employees. So there wont be people in the third row for more than 20kms at a stretch. The cab owners are paid based on kms covered. The price cut will surely attract attention from such cab owners as IMHO lodgy is more reliable than tavera/xylo and definitely frugal.

[vivekgk]

I was offered a Lodgy RXL 110PS for an OTR price of 9.75 lacs. Almost bought it, but thought better of it and opted out. The same dealer is also offering the RXZ 110PS for 10.7 OTR and RxZ Stepway for 11.4 lacs OTR. All of these are 2015 VIN. It's a stock clearance sale at the moment, but the cuts on the 85PS models seem to be here to stay.