[SPARKled]

I think December is a month when car makers sell most cars on discounts and offers. So we are seeing an increase in the numbers of some cars which are discounted.

Whereas cars like Verna, Captur and Ecosport and other new launches are showing less than usual numbers as there are no discounts on offer on these cars. Moreover they have a bit of a wait as well, which has led to postponing car buying to the new year.

[RaghuVis]

Datsun/Fiat/Nissan -- Less said the better. Surprising to see Redigo dispatches come down. Guess 1.0 AMT will bring it back to previous numbers. Have not seen even a single white board Redigo till now. All have been Uber/Ola.

Honda -- WRV settling in 3.5-4K is good news for them. My neighbour took a Jazz CVT but was disappointed that it is not available in top trim. Honda Still adamant. They don't realize public will make them realize their mistake.

Ford -- Surprised at Ecosport numbers. Am sure there is an explanation. There is not even a single reason to term the new version a dud. It's looks has been accepted by most,DCT has been replaced by a reliable CVT, Automatic is available in cheaper trim as well as top end and most importantly price remains the same. Yep, definitely there is going to be some reason which will come out sooner. One could argue it was shut-down month but that doesn't make sense. Aspire dispatches have increased. If they indeed did a shut-down and gave priority to Aspire than the red hot Ecosport, then they have themselves to blame.

Hyundai -- There was a big dispatch of Verna to middle east. So the drops across the segments can be justified.

Compass -- Still maintaining the momentum but lots of horror stories already. Sad they have not learnt. One wonders if FCA deserves so many chances.

Mahindra -- Our legend Anand would be one worried man. All the new ones are Duds and XUV is losing a big chunk to Compass. Maybe the Facelift can try to revive. The MPV is the only hope not just to them but also to Taxi segment. Hope they deliver.

Maruti -- Typical MSIL. 13 of their 14 cars saw lesser dispatches compared to previous month but still they were able to maintain 50% market share. Swift production ends with 9800 Dispatches!

Renault -- Captur has not Captured fascination of the Indian public and rightly so. Hope they learn to not fool people.

Skoda -- Superb has done Superb sales yet again. Skoda has done 832 dispatches for Kodiaq in 2017. Surely that is not a whole number. I think all this allotment numbers and limited kits for India and all are a pure marketing gimmick. It's worked out well for them so I guess it's ok.

Tata -- Nexon momentum is good. Hope it sustains for them. AMT should only improve the prospects. 13.5k dispatches for Hexa in 2017. Disappointing numbers for such a good car. Tiago had a fantastico year. Sure the momentum is going to sustain for now.

Toyota/Volkswagen -- Nothing Dramatic. Tiguan has 798 Dispatches in 2017. Again the Limited Kits drama. Very good numbers though.

[Dry Ice]

3% market loss for Maruti compared to last month. But still nothing short of a blockbuster month for them. They might have posters in their corporate offices exclaiming "Who says December should be a dull month!"

And the stock soars towards 10k mark.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by RaghuVis

...,DCT has been replaced by a reliable CVT, Automatic is available in cheaper trim as well as top end and most importantly price remains the same.

Correction : Its a torque converter unit now, no CVT . And prices have increased now across the trims from January, but again that shouldn't have affected the December dispatches.

HEXA sees a steep climb whereas XUV has a sharp fall. So COMPASS is affecting XUV more than HEXA(but then it never had huge numbers to loose much). Good to see the momentum for NEXON.

I dont think we should read too much into the low numbers of ECOSPORT. Might be FORD concentrated more on exports this month? They have a reputation of preferring export over domestic market when it comes to ECOSPORT.

Originally Posted by vb-san

I would say it’s the other way - Rapid is doing quite badly in its segment while the other 3 models are going pretty good. Octavia is close to the segment leader (Corolla), Superb is going really superb in its segment, and close to 200 units of Kodiaq is actually very good.

Skoda has positioned themselves as premium brand now and the offerings are doing pretty decent in their respective segments except for the Rapid.

[kbishwa]

A C1 segment car is topping the chart, not for the first time. A B2 segment car at 3rd position for consecutive months.

These numbers tell a story of a changing India. It is not only the aspiration of people at large but also the purchasing abilities have gone up! India is really shining!

And, that is also seen by a bumper December for Luxury cars!

However, not a good start for Captur (or is it disappointing?) And so for Ecosport!

Jeep building from strength to strength (market share again increased by 11%)

Tata and M&M are now rubbing their bonnets (shoulders !!) New year launches would decide a lot. For Tata two cars in top 20 for 2 consecutive months may be something to be proud of, along with Hexa doing some good duty (the Ghost has died, Aria!)

[arvi86]

In continuation to the individual sales figures posted at the beginning of this thread, here are 2017's Top 10 Brands in India.

• Maruti-Suzuki's dominance is scary. With a 50% share in 2017, there's no stopping this juggernaut.
• Hyundai is doing a great job. Problem is, they can't even hope to improve their position.
• Mahindra needs to watch out. Honda or Tata could spring a surprise in the coming years.
• Renault needs something like the Kwid all over again.

Source: Anything-On-Wheels

[dark.knight]

Fine work as usual Aditya. 5 Stars.

To everyone else reading we must understand that these are factory dispatches to the dealers and not final sales to the customer. Hence while these threads are the most accurate indication of gross demand and supply, absolute numbers in sales MoM is impossible to be ascertained unless we get the figures from each and every dealership and that is not going to happen.

For example if VW had manufactured Polo GTI at their Chakan Plant, the dispatches would've been shown as 100/150 depending on actual numbers produced all in ONE month!! The sad fact is that VW dealers are still sitting on stock with about a dozen or two of them about 6 months after the dispatch.

Months like December and mid-year and Diwali times ALWAYS stray away from the general buying trend.. this is also dealer specific wherein some dealers will stock up a month before by anticipating demand, some will already be sitting on existing stock and few may order based on bookings.. such movements may show in the factory dispatches a month before AND a month later. From my analysis of every such thread, a variation of upto 20-30% is quite normal, either upwards or downwards.. dealers need to anticipate demand and fill up their books and since dispatches are order based and get blocked by the ERP software they need to play their cards well. This is also brand specific wherein a Maruti dealer may be more aggressive in terms of placing orders as they know sales are high but a Hyundai or VW dealer cannot be anywhere close to that overconfident, much less other brands.

[volkman10]

For those puzzled with the low domestic volumes of Ecosport the reason is Ford prioritizes its exports over the domestic sales.

Though the exports to EU have tapered off, the American giant starts its exports to USA.




Link

[The Rationalist]

Renault Captur is going the way most bhpians predicted. It was not dead on arrival if that is any solace, but surely is going to the ventilator if December numbers are going to be the norm. Talk about error of judgement about Indians, we simply won't take to an SUV if it doesn't look like one. Renault, Captur is going to be a costly baby in the long run, that is if it survives the initial months.

[jpcoolguy]

Thanks Aditya for the monthly sales figures for the month of Dec '17 .

Few observations from my side -

1. This is the second lowest month of this year, only ahead of the GST month (Jun '17). For M&M, Nissan and Fiat, this is the lowest month this year. However, this is expected as the dealers will not want to stick with previous year stocks in the new year (similar trends observed previous years as well).

2. M&M claimed back the 3rd position from Tata, but just so. Most probably, Tata will be back to 3rd position again from the new year onwards.

3. Swift has fallen below 10K mark in its last month - till the new generation kicks in. But the biggest surprise is the numbers of Ignis, falling below 2K, which surely points to the sales failure, per MSIL standards.

4. i20 has sold below 10K units for the only time this year and with Creta falling below 7K units and the biggest fall of them all - Verna below 2K, just in its 5th month, must surely worry Hyundai.

5. City was able to wrestle back the lead from Ciaz and Verna, and as a result finished this Calendar year as the leader of the C2 Sedan segment.

6. Wonder what is happening with Ecosport, is it impacted due to Nexon or Ford has not prioritized its sales this month?

7. Compass is marching ahead with its golden run, selling more than XUV and Hexa combined, for the second consecutive month.

[jpcoolguy]

A look at the Top 25 cars during the December month, over the years.

[anjan_c2007]

The Baleno has reached # 3 just trailing the DZire and the Alto. The other Marutis have earned their slots, the Breeza despite its high price tag is now at # 6. It has outwitted its competitor from Hyundai, Creta, the price differential and the company name (Maruti) getting it lots of notice.

The once best selling Swift has been going down the charts, much like a # 1 song from a Hits Chart retreating after outliving its popularity.

Homegrown Tata Motors has two entries @ # 17 and # 20 with its Tiago and Nexon, which is quite a good sign compared to their total absence from the Top Twenty for many years.

And Mahindra lugs on with its good old Bolero @ # 16. The Bolero and Scorpio, both oldies appear to be earning bread and butter for M & M. Their newbies are almost either laggards or non - starters. Xylos are being sold to central government departments these days and to the taxi trade. Private buyers are very few. It shows that in the Mahindra family, the oldies do almost all the earnings, while the youngsters eat, drink and make merry !

Likewise, the Omni @ # 14 is another oldie, the oldest model in the whole lot of 20, with bare minimal changes over the years (three plus decades). Its the Omni monopoly with no competitor, that results in such a stagnation of evolution, but good sales. Can happen only in India. The Bolero is another case in point, with almost no competitor to take it head on. So again we see stagnation in the evolutionary process ! The BS I to IV norms came and so their engine upgrades had to compulsorily happen (Omni and Bolero). Now with the NCAP safety norms to become mandatory wef 2019/ 2020, let us see how these old models face the heat ?

[Monolithic]

Originally Posted by jpcoolguy

A look at the Top 25 cars during the December month, over the years.

Thanks for the table! Amazing how the volume of the car sales has grown over the years.

[arvi86]

With the December sales figures out, here is the full list of Top 20 cars for the year 2017.

• Maruti-Suzuki occupies the top 5 positions
• 7 out of the Top 10 selling cars are from Maruti-Suzuki
• Hyundai takes the remaining 3 slots
• 15 out of the Top 20 are from either Maruti-Suzuki or Hyundai
• Renault, Mahindra, Toyota, Tata and Honda have one car each in the Top 20

Source: Anything-On-Wheels

[King_pin09]

Wonderful analysis there Aditya, thanks for sharing.

To me the update Verna is a big time bummer. It has all bells and whistles (including few first in class features), improved looks, improved suspension set up and backed with robust after sales support of Hyundai. Somehow the product does not seem to go down well with the Indian buyers. With never ending struggle to crack the tricky C2 sedan segment, Hyundai (after having the block buster Fluidic Verna) seems to have landed in the same spot as was Maruti a few years ago before Ciaz. Seems like a typical example of a meritorious student failing in exams after passing the previous year with flying colors. Maruti needs to be watchful of this aspect while bringing new updates / facelifts / makeover to its popular cars.

Jeep for sure has paid fat year end incentives to its team. Why not, the Compass has provided sure footing to an otherwise unfamiliar brand in India. A sigh of relief at FCA headquarters after seeing years of dismal progress by FIAT cars.

Renault ends up 2017 with a mixed bag of emotions. Whilst they celebrate the continued good run of the Kwid at the same time Captur seems to have turned too heavy to roll off the showroom floors.

Maruti continues its impeccable run with all stars shining in brilliant colors. Ciaz numbers may appear smaller; however they are due to plant up gradation for incorporating the 2018 facelift. Keeping fingers crossed for the new car to come in.

Toyota continues to run on the popularity of the Fortuner and Innova. Although some may say that the Etios twins are flopped, I look at them otherwise. Back during 2011 when the Etios was launched, the competition offered similarly specified products. Since then, heat in the market has turned up and competition has gone under chisel several times. Just one look at the 2011 Dzire and the present Dzire one can say hordes about the changes in product packaging, then and now. Even as few manufacturers such as Ford, Honda and VW have introduced entirely new products in the category to remain relevant. Notably even cars from higher segments such as City and Verna have undergone complete makeover. Whilst all this going around, the Etios twins despite being more than 6 years old in our market and are going without any substantial update, have managed to stay alive calmly and yet clocking more than 2000 units each month. Admittedly, these numbers have been greatly assisted by the ever growing taxi segment, but still I say the Etios twins have achieved no mean feat.