Quote:
Originally Posted by Ry_der As per my knowledge fiat uno was launched in 1998. Also the FIAT-PAL were quite infamous in the market with many consumer court cases. I agree that it was a well known name but on the negative side. |
I am not sure of the exact date, but Wiki says it launched in 1996 (CKD) in PAL partnership and from 1997 with Tata JV. In fact, Uno was initially a success in India but Fiat could not maintain the success due to the dealership attitude and ASS troubles.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ry_der Premium cars in the late 90s was not a good idea. Honda managed to be the segment leader but to be ranked as 2nd biggest you need to sell some serious no. of cars.
I can remember that there was no honda city car in my whole town till late 2000s, it might be popular in big cities but the towns have emerged as the biggest car markets of india due to increased purchasing power. |
Honda had aspirational value and was considered premium. But, it could not reap the success when it came to budget offerings like Brio and Amaze (initially did well though). Reason is, it did not give the users the Value for Money. No features or cheap feel were the reason for the Brio platform to not take off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ry_der FYI Tata motors has 714 service centres pan india and Hyundai has some 620 of them but the catch is
most no. of the T.A.S.S. are for heavy vehicles. Tata services and parts availability was always an issue. Let's talk about indica, indica was launched in 1998 and got some serious buyers. But the car didnt age well and didnt deliver as advertised. Tata motors had to launch indica V2 which was very successfull. But TATA didnt have any other CAR in their stable for a long time and the indica has been labled as taxi. |
Indica was launched and was considered a big threat for Maruti 800 and obviously Santro. Indica sold well initially, but again, could not retain the success and is not limited to the taxi market. Reason? You have mentioned it yourselves. Tata, in spite of having a large network and a lot of support from Government, could not do what Hyundai could. Primarily because, it did not respect the Indian buyers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ry_der No passenger car, no budget car. Mahindra was irrelevant. |
Hyundai started with budget Santro but has grown itself to do well in premium segments as well with cars like Creta, Elantra, Santa Fe. But Mahindra with all its history could not succeed in any other segment that the SUV. Reason? No Value for Money products and very less effort to consciously understand the requirements of budget buyer - may be they did not want to venture much into that pie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ry_der Escort was a premium car and so was ikon. |
Yes, Escort was. Ikon was not. Ford was always one car wonder - Figo, Ecosport. Main reason why they did not succeed - they NEVER respected the local market demands. Their focus was export. They could have gained a lot of traction during Ecosport times and grown to a much bigger seller in India.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ry_der Santro did beat M800 in terms of sale in 2004. So I dont think Hyundai has looked back since Santro. |
Even recently, Grand i10 has beaten Swift and Elite i20 has beaten Baleno and Creta thumps S-Cross. But, I am talking about the overall numbers.
End of the day, we are telling the same thing. Hyundai did a lot of things right which other manufacturers did not. What I am trying to convey is being the early player is not exactly the reason. How they made use of their customer base and how well they designed their products and kept themselves relevant and how they reinvented themselves time and again is what made them successful and stay right on top.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ry_der Nano was launched in 2008. The used car market was matured till then. Nano could have done wonders but the awkward looks and the auto like sound made everyone run away. Cheap in india is good but looks matters the most(Kwid, anyone).
M800 and alto ruled the market because those were cheap as well as not bad looking. |
Nano could have done wonders, even with that looks, if Tata did not play the "cheap" card and if the initial fire incidents did not happen. I know a lot of people who wanted to buy Nano but did not - simply because their neighbors will think they purchased a cheap car. Kwid is a success because it gives a lot of value for money - Micro Duster looks, good ground clearance, touch screen HU, etc. made people see value in it. Believe me, Kwid would have sold well even if it was expensive by 50k or even a lakh.
Well, Datsun Go is a much bigger and better looking car than Alto and is cheap as well. Why did it not sell?? It is not just the looks or price that drives the market. It is a very complex equation where people want to see value and only value.