[Asish_VK]

Maruti seems to be Unstoppable ! and I guess they will increase their share by each passing month with their aggressive strategies and reputation.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

No, I think there is some data available, though mentioned indicative.



pretty close, have a look

http://www.autopunditz.com

On a funny note :

FIAT guys will be feeling proud by looking at the numbers of Fiat and Mercedes for last 2 months, Bragging "We are competing with Mercedes in market share.. Yay"

[rajshenoy]

I see big bumps in sales for most categories due to GST, perhaps people delaying their purchase decisions.

Now I expect bigger bump in sale for August for cars > 4m because of the 25% cess proposal.

[trek]

I am really surprised that people are still buying the dated and cramped Swift in such large numbers! It's closest competitor the Grande i10 is a better product in terms of overall quality and feel good factor. What a cash cow the Swift has turned out to be for Maruti!

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by trek

I am really surprised that people are still buying the dated and cramped Swift in such large numbers! It's closest competitor the Grande i10 is a better product in terms of overall quality and feel good factor. What a cash cow the Swift has turned out to be for Maruti!

That is because the Swift is still better in Fuel Efficiency, Performance, Ride/Handling etc & finally, gives a perception of having lower maintenance costs (May or may not be true).

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by trek

I am really surprised that people are still buying the dated and cramped Swift in such large numbers! It's closest competitor the Grande i10 is a better product in terms of overall quality and feel good factor.

Grand i10 is a car with that feel-good factor, but having no aspirational value, IMO. It's a Celerio but with that above-mentioned feel-good factor. Swift still maintains that freshness compared to many of its rivals. Talk to any customer in that segment; the craze towards i10 will be no way closer to Swift.

[igp_79]

While Maruti with it's market share of 52% needs to be congratulated, I feel that the totally skewed bias of the Indian car buying public towards Maruti is one of the major reasons why we lament that Indian cars are not right up there with global cars. Be it in terms of features, safety or faster model revamps.

Of course there are other factors, like archaic regulatory laws that do not stipulate stringent quality parameters. But it is competition, that is the best regulator.

And Maruti's sales figures will flummox any manufacturer who is eyeing India. Really, the market share picture is disheartening, even if I were the CEO of Hyundai. Leave alone Ford or Volkswagen

Finally they will make a car that will compete with a Maruti in that particular segment. The manufacturer will make another mass market machine, often compromising on their own company's core values. And if they cannot curtail their development costs, they will brutally cut out on the feature list. And that car, will obviously not sell as well as the competing Maruti, since it has nothing more to offer. Or, if it is a well engineered vehicle with a short feature list, Maruti with it's better feature list will still be a better buy....and the cycle continues!

Don't get me wrong. I totally appreciate the way Maruti responds to the market's needs, and it's lightning fast, aggressive and ever expanding reach. Though it had the first mover advantage, it did not become the tottering old school giant it could have become.Instead, it remains lean and mean, and a formidable force to reckon with.All I am saying is, in general, one company with a disproportionate market share is not good for that industry.

It is our herd mentality that is one of the major reasons to blame for the shortcomings of the Indian car scene. We as a people play it very safe and give a hard time to the fringe players. We are more complacent than passionate. We choose mediocrity and safety over excellence and exoticism. Maybe that explains a lot of things about India.

[HYDRAVI]

Originally Posted by igp_79

While Maruti with it's market share of 52% needs to be congratulated, I feel that the totally skewed bias of the Indian car buying pubic towards Maruti is one of the major reasons why we lament that Indian cars are not right up there with global cars. Be it in terms of features, safety or faster model revamps.

Of course there are other factors, like archaic regulatory laws that do not stipulate stringent quality parameters. But it is competition, that is the best regulator.

And Maruti's sales figures will flummox any manufacturer who is eying India. Really, the market share picture is disheartening, even if I were the CEO of Hyundai. Leave alone Ford or Volkswagen

A very good unbiased macro level thought. Destiny wins.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by igp_79

It is our herd mentality that is one of the major reasons to blame for the shortcomings of the Indian car scene. We as a people play it very safe and give a hard time to the fringe players. We are more complacent than passionate. We choose mediocrity and safety over excellence and exoticism. Maybe that explains a lot of things about India.

Have said this time and again. Why would a global car company even attempt to come to India? Toyota tried it with Etios and failed miserably (volumes) because the final product lost its core Toyota value.

We, as a country, are not risk takers. We like to be in a safe cocoon where we are not judged as rebellious (father, mother, wife, father in-law, Sharmaji, friends, office peers, neighbours). We want to please everyone. So, even if the final product is mediocre (poor value compared to a similar offering from another brand) we will just tap our hearts and say "All is well". Maruti knows this and exploits this mentality to the core.

People rave about the fresh products from Tata but expect them to be priced lower than a similar offering from Maruti though they are getting much much more in terms of quality and value, but No! Tata owes us for selling bad Indicas two decades ago. So they have to be cheaper to compensate. Never mind the fact that we never bought a Tata in the first place. We heard it from Sharmaji's brother in-law's friend's father's cousin that Tata made bad cars. That's good enough for us.

An absolute majority is never good going, be it cars or the Government. We need a healthy competition (opposition) for us to up the game and get what customers can call value (good governance).

Not happening in the near future. End of rant.

[sudev]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Have said this time and again. Why would a global car company even attempt to come to India? Toyota tried it with Etios and failed miserably (volumes) because the final product lost its core Toyota value....

Which global company is not present in India?

The market is maturing and seeking better features than just lowest cost. Any one is welcome but to get volumes they need to stay invested and give products market desires.

Renault has almost got it but where is range of new products? Kwid alone cannot make it happen. You need too get hinterland sales into mix and not just live off metro sales.

Yes any new entrants will have to fight Maruti tooth and nail. Just like Maruti trying to venture into other countries.

I come from generation that saw change from Ambassador to M800 to present.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by sudev

Which global company is not present in India?
.

I come from the same generation as you. Any global competitor who tries to take on Maruti will have to bite the dust. Because that was what the first mover advantage was all about. Two decades of being babied and protected is enough gestation for any company to become a lead player. That's why there's a huge market share difference between 1 and 2.

Most companies in India are one model wonders, maybe two. Our charts clearly show that. The onus is on the younger generation to move out and try other products, fresher and providing more value.

[Mr.Beat]

Lots of discussion on the perils of Maruti being the segment leader. I think there are strong reasons for people to choose a MS car over the competitors. The reasons are not solely of herd mentality always but great product positioning as well. You can consider any segment from Alto to S-scross and you go out to the showrooms and take test drives and i am sure you will have Maruti in your shortlist.

1. The Sales team is generally better and more responsive than the counterparts
2. You don't hear of mechanical failures associated with the so called well engineered Germans
3. Even with such huge sales figures , you would associate car breakdowns or some cars lying with the showroom due to poor diagnosis mostly with other manufacturers
4. The cars which state of better sheet metal and are India specific score the same in NCAP ratings even though they are 10% more expensive than a Maruti.
5. Apart from Sheet metal quality and crash worthiness ( which is debatable), Maruti car will tick most other boxes for a majority of population.
6. I see TATA to be moving in the right direction to compete well in the market having a good product mix which is lacking with majority of other players. It has an entry level hatchback, B1 segment hatch, premium hatch, compact sedan, compact SUV and full size MUV.

P.S. I have tired to avoid the herd mentality buy buying a Chevy Beat in 2010 when i considered it a better product than Ritz and Wagon-R and was a satisfied Chevy Customer. However, Maruti has really strengthened its position in the last few years and i see it gaining traction in every desirable segment.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by igp_79

It is our herd mentality that is one of the major reasons to blame for the shortcomings of the Indian car scene. We as a people play it very safe and give a hard time to the fringe players. We are more complacent than passionate.
...
We choose mediocrity and safety over excellence and exoticism.

Can you name those "exotic" cars made here but failed because of the customer's mentality?


We can never blame the customers. Compare the average income of Indians with that of other developed nations. Indians can't afford the kind of cars those nations buy. So, Indians give priority to fuel efficiency and low cost of ownership, and are clever enough to buy cars that satisfy their tastes / made to their choice. We have enough examples even from Maruti's rival manufacturers.

Duster was selling 3-4K units during its golden times.
Kwid was selling 10K at one time, and even now, is able t maintain the 6K levels.
Ecosport is selling in 4-5K units, even after the launch of the popular Brezza.
City maintains its own status and volume in the sedan category.
Creta touches 10K every month.
i10 sells 12K consistently.
i20 sells 10-12K. Costly? Anymore?
Tiago sells in good numbers.
Innova - need more data?
Fortuner sells 1-2K every month.
Scorpio maintains the 4K level even after the launch of the current gen SUVs.
Bolero was selling around 10K levels once at a time, and now at 6K levels.
Who thought the XUV can sell at this volume?

Also, if that so called "mentality" was the culprit, all cars from Maruti's stable should have been volume sellers. But see what happened.

Estilo failed miserably.
A-Star was no star.
SX4 was drowned in the sea of Citys.
Versa - where you saw it?
Ritz, though was a volume seller once, is axed.
Baleno sedan was bombed.

But see how Maruti responded?

A-Star and Estilo were replaced by a Celerio; and the average sales volume now is 6-7K!
SX4 was replaced by Ciaz, a tough competitor to City!
Versa was literally chopped to Indian "size" and see how Eeco performs!
Ritz was replaced by Ignis and positioned as a life-style car, and sells 5K units on an average.
Baleno name was brought back with a hatch that sold 19K units last month!

It's not like "all cars from Maruti are there in the top 25 sellers' list". They replaced even the slow sellers with better products.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Have said this time and again. Why would a global car company even attempt to come to India? Toyota tried it with Etios and failed miserably (volumes) because the final product lost its core Toyota value.

Originally Posted by sudev

Which global company is not present in India?

The market is maturing and seeking better features than just lowest cost. Any one is welcome but to get volumes they need to stay invested and give products market desires.

Renault has almost got it but where is range of new products? Kwid alone cannot make it happen. You need too get hinterland sales into mix and not just live off metro sales.

Yes any new entrants will have to fight Maruti tooth and nail. Just like Maruti trying to venture into other countries.

I agree with discoverwild here.

Look at what has become of Toyota and Honda. They attempted to go mass market in India and realized it is price+FE over safety+quality. So, they gave India what we wanted: cheaper products, and now we suddenly hate them because these products don't live up to their name.

Somebody quoted Ford's example very well on some other thread:

Originally Posted by Kishen.padiyar

It is quite a tricky situation for Ford. I would like to quote the example of Figo/Aspire twins here. When The Classic and old Figo were doing duties for Ford in India, we all asked for something fresh and up-to-date design. Some complained of lack of power, heavy steering, less cabin space and even a low ARAI rating for FE.

To address all the above, Ford got the Figo twins, replaced the old 1.4 68hp engine with the 1.5 TDCI which is an absolute stonker and even got in the EPAS with pull drift feature. To increase the power to weight ratio and even FE there was a slight compromise in terms of the build quailty wrt. the previous models from Ford stable. Agreed. But is it possible for any car to tick all the boxes? People now complain of poor build etc but at the same time tin cans from Maruti stable fly off the shelves.

Service costs have been constantly reduced and even adverts were screened to spread the awareness, baby parts program has been launched and in-spite of all this, ask any buyer today in the market about Ford and all we hear is it is expensive to maintain.

When the mindset is such, what is it the manufacturer can do? In a way I feel Ford is right in not bringing the Escape and Focus to India. They just cannot bring in adequate volumes!

Frankly, I detest the success of Kwid, because it just reinforces the fact that Indians will just lap up a product as long as it measures up to their aspirations: which range from wanting a sun-roof over airbags and SUVish looks. The success of Kwid can potentially open the floodgates for quality and safety-wise inferior products in the name of features.

And Maruti's 50% market share attests to just that.

Given our infatuation for FE and low cost, very few manufacturers have the motivation to bring quality products here. If they do, they have to be contend with 3-digit monthly sales.

The biggest road-block to us getting quality products is us ourselves.

[Sree73]

Attributing Maruti's success and market position just to the early mover advantage is total injustice to that great company and brand.
They acquired that position not because of early mover advantage. They worked very hard and tried addressing what the customer needs.
Inspite of being a leader with more than 50% market share, they still maintain one of the best after sales service and customer relationship/focus.
Ignoring all these and blaming herd mentality and looking for only 'first mover advantage' is like other brands not realising the presence of a log in their own eye, but finds dust in that of Maruti's.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by igp_79

It is our herd mentality that is one of the major reasons to blame for the shortcomings of the Indian car scene. We as a people play it very safe and give a hard time to the fringe players. We are more complacent than passionate. We choose mediocrity and safety over excellence and exoticism. Maybe that explains a lot of things about India.

No, it is not our fault entirely.

1. The 'well-engineered' products from VW, Skoda are languishing at the sales charts, not due to Maruti's dominance, but due to their own arrongance, sub-par dealerships & total lack of products & updates.

2. Looks at how many offerings maruti has in 3-10 lakh range.
Compare it to VW/Skoda or even Ford.
Maruti has more offerings in this range than these 3 combined.
It has something for every one. It has a dealership and a service center in every possible nook and corner. Sneeze and you will find one.

3. The Fuel Efficiency & Reliability of MSIL's offerings are un-matched by any of it's competitors. The customers know it, the rivals also know it. Clean sweep.