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-   -   Isuzu planning to launch MU-X. EDIT: Launched at Rs. 23.99 lakhs (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/178336-isuzu-planning-launch-mu-x-edit-launched-rs-23-99-lakhs-11.html)

Yup that part is illogical. While they claim that there is enough space in the 3rd row for seniors, there is actually hardly any space. When I saw the MUX, I tried sitting in the third row (I am only 5' 8") and I found my knees up against the 2nd row and my head almost at the roof. The second row is also not slidable so there is no scope for increasing the third row legroom.
It is best only for kids and they too will complain.

Yup, had they launched at 20.99 for 4x2 and 22.99 for 4x4, they would have many more takers, with a 5 Lac difference with the Endeavour. At a 1.5 -2 Lac differential is just not justified. For peace of mind alone, especially in upcountry locations (where you would supposedly go to, with this SUV) if you don't have any service presence, it makes no sense to buy it.
Isuzu also have also lost their reliability perception, given the number of V-cross buyers who are facing issues and are not being addressed appropriately.

Toyota is selling 1500 Fortuners a month and there is still a 6 month waiting period. Had Isuzu been more sensible with the pricing, they could have won over a few from there.
At current price level they will sell 100-150 a month. Had they targeted a 3 lac lower price, they could have sold 400-500.

To be honest, going by that logic Figo, Aspire, Sunny should be selling like hot cakes now. But the reality is different. They don't have such a brand value so they would never sell more than 100/200 units per month. So I guess they made the right call by not pricing it lower as it would not have made much difference anyway in terms of sales.

My other guess would be that they are banking of AP sales as Isuzu vehicles are exempt from life time tax till 2021. So OTR price difference could still be huge between Isuzu and T-Fort/Endeavour

Figo/Aspire sells in 1.1k and 1.9k currently.

20 Lakhs for a full blown SUV is not imaginable but, if they have priced it that low, people will be in queue to lap up this. Those who are thinking of getting Innova, Tucson, Endeavor or even Fortuner (10 lakhs or so savings!) and some C segment sedans in the range of 18 lakhs (additional 2 or 3 lakhs we get a big car!) will rethink.

Now this SUV is caught in between Endeavour and Fortuner (who are well established and from reputable brands) and it is going to uphill task for it to make sense of the every penny. An unknown brand for 20+ lakh range, you have to do lots of convincing to the buyers. MU-X will simply be crushed by Endy & Fortuner. DoA.

At these rates - No. They can wish but not going to happen, remember FORD barely sells 600 or so Endeavour and they have multiple time dealers and their product is absolutely brand new, unlike MU-X. Besides many V Cross owners have one or other problems, mostly due to poor QC control on CKD / Indian assembled. They have priced at least 3 Lac more. Sweet spot could have been a starting price of 19,99 perhaps. They could have increased little later like they did with V Cross but launching at high rates and then reducing ( which should happen) will create more troubles for everyone in my opinion.

Yes, Innova looks very competitively priced now :)

agree:

MU-X had better chances if they had priced it around 20 Lacs. This would have got them buyers who were looking at top end version of XUV, Hexa, and Crysta. A full blown reliable SUV is the only thing missing in that price bracket and MU-X would have found buyers even for the pre-face lifted version.

I don't see MU-X going anywhere with this sort of pricing.

Everything said and done this is going to outsell both the Endy and TFort in A.P. for sure. The A.P. Govt. had announced that all vehicles produced in A.P. and registered in A.P. will not have to pay Road Tax for the next 5 years. So all the resident buyers in A.P. will have to pay 24-26L + insurance, that's it. The 4x2 will do well there.

Yes, even when it was priced as VFM and even after price cut, it still lags behind the competition. People particularly have not lapped it up. If it is the case for FORD what chance Isuzu has?

My point is, even if it were priced at 19,99, max they can expect is 100-200. So there was never a real advantage/reason for them to price it lower. Lets say they could sell 200 units @ 20L (with 1L margin) compared to 50 units @24L, they still end up making more money in the second case.

You don't put a manufacturing plant just to cater one state and I doubt any Fortuner customer is going to go in the lower segment. Most of the people that own Fortuner or inspire to buy one won't bother a couple of lac here or there, if you doubt do check some Innova and Fortuner threads, just the value of accessories spent at Dealership will be an average of 1 lac before taking deliveries.

They could have played the reliability card if they had a better record with existing V Cross.

No- This could have become aspiration product for XUV and similar buyers from a lower segment, like V Cross.

It's not that easy, remember there are over 40 % Taxes and Duties and Isuzu gets only balance. Anyways they must have many pricing specialists, let's see what happens after 6 months.

All said and done : what a time to be a SUV buyer in the 30L OTR segment !!
Spoilt for choices , as reasonable a spread that you can expect in this niche, with more choices coming up. (VW Tiguan)

With this pricing it looks like Mu7 sales history will repeat for Isuzu. I wonder why they haven't learnt that from MU7 market feedback. Isuzu is not getting into this segment for the first time in India.

All heart but still they had to cram the kids' grandad into the third row in the ad. How cruel? :D

The car looks good though i expected more aggressive pricing from isuzu. The tumbling middle seats and the LCD screen on the roof is good enough for churning out volumes from Isuzu :)

Eagerly waiting for the test report from team-bhp. I have a strong feeling that the numbers are going to be decent, can be higher than Endeavour too. Unless Isuzu does some major goof up with after sales.

Isuzu had a real, nice buzz going with the D-Max V-Cross and it's excellent, competitive pricing in the segment it was in. The AP government's announcement of the Road Tax exemption was a further icing on the cake.

Add to that, they had created some buzz before the MU-X's launch largely due to these factors, specially for those enthusiasts who are big fans of the V-Cross, had a good idea of the MU-X's capabilities, and expected another masterstroke in pricing from Isuzu.

The segment beyond the 23-lakh mark is dominated largely by the Toyota Fortuner, with the Ford Endeavour in second. Despite all other factors, where the Fortuner wins is Toyota's reliability, ease of maintenance and an excellent resale value. Those looking for performance in this segment won't look beyond the 3.2L Endeavour.

Like Turbanator and Sankar said, you can't convince a Fortuner customer to look at any other car in it's price segment. Same goes for the 3.2L Endeavour customer, however small ratio that may be.

So, the MU-X at 24-26 lakhs is going nowhere. Maybe it had a chance when it was priced at least 3 lakhs less (admit it, a full-blown 4WD AT SUV at 23 lakhs sounds delicious!), but now, looking at all parameters, one has to regretfully admit that Isuzu has definitely shot itself in the foot with regard to the MU-X's chances.

Also, how come the MU-X is priced higher than the Chevrolet Trailblazer (more or less the same car), when the former is assembled from CKD kits and the latter is offered as a CBU unit imported from Thailand?

Add to it, the Chevy produces (significantly) more power and torque from it's 2.8L mill than the Isuzu's 3.0L oil burner.

What a bummer!

V Cross was barely justified at the launch OTR price in BLR, now it has added another 1.5 lakhs. It is your quintessential double cab with some niceties and had few takers. Now they launch the SUV version of the same vehicle at almost double the cost?! Whatever be the logic, I personally don't see any worth more than 20 Lakhs for this one (4x4).

And let us not even get into a comparison with Ford or Fortuner, both of these are over priced like crazy. They have better brand recall and support, so they manage to pull it off for now, but ISUZU???

I hoped and prayed this would be the underdog, guess I was wrong. It just became the white elephant :(

Okay, folks. First, I'm personally not a fan of body-on-frame passenger vehicles (just a personal preference, no offence meant to those who like 'em), so I don't follow news about them as keenly as I do for the rest.

Many of you seem to believe Isuzu has overpriced the MU-X. Some even believe it is grossly overpriced for what it offers.

A comparative price check reveals the exact opposite. Here's Autocar India's price comparison chart pitting the MU-X against its direct rivals (full credit to the chaps at ACI):



Isuzu may be absolutely nothing when it comes to monocoques, but this company is certainly not a pushover in the field of body-on-frame vehicles (they excel at trucks) and are renowned for their diesel engine prowess. So it's not as if they're pushing an inferior product. What's more, the Chevrolet Trailblazer is basically a badge-engineered Isuzu MU-X.

Am I missing something here? :confused:

1) In the 25-lakh SUV segment, brand Isuzu doesn't have the same pull as brand Toyota or brand Ford.

2) Customers in this segment, who are spending 25 lakhs+ for their cars, won't mind to spend a few more to get the better, more recognisable and ease of maintenance option.

Ask me which one would I choose between a 24 lakh Isuzu and a 26.6 lakh Ford, and I will choose the Ford. Same goes between a 26 lakh Isuzu and a 28 lakh Ford, in their 4x4 guises (the latter packs in a 3.2L engine too!)

In comparison to the Fortuner, the MU-X might seem VFM but brand Fortuner has a very strong pull, and MU-X is yet to establish itself in our country.

3) The MU-X shares it's underpinnings with the much cheaper V-Cross, and only the top hat is different. Both cars share plenty of components too. Nearly double the cost of it's sibling is just too much!

4) Isuzu has a limited dealership reach, compared to Ford and Toyota. As such, a customer will think twice, specially those who are into extensive traveling and need service backup in most parts of India.

5) Some V-Cross buyers are now facing issues (as highlighted in the V-Cross official review thread) and aren't getting good support from the company or it's dealers, and that doesn't bode well for a more pricey offering from the same stable.

6) Lower pricing would have meant luring in some customers from a segment below, thus expanding the reach of the product. Isuzu always had the option of raising the prices later, once the product manages to carve it's own niche in the segment.

7) The MU-X doesn't offer anything drastically different or aspirational (in terms of features or performance) from it's in-segment competition, and as such it will exist as "just another SUV" in the 25-lakh segment. Look what happened to the much more competent Trailblazer. Same fate awaits the MU-X.