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-   -   February 2018 : Indian Car Sales Figures & Analysis (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/196654-february-2018-indian-car-sales-figures-analysis-3.html)

No don't write off FIAT engines. FIAT is rumoured to have offered its 1.6 diesel engine( downsized to 1.5) to Maruti Suzuki.



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It's the other way round - the sales of Ecosport has picked up after the facelift with consistently selling more than 5K units. The average units per month for the pre-facelift Ecosport is as given below:

2017 - 4,171
2016 - 3,809
2015 - 3,534
2014 - 4,256
2013 - 4,815 (launch year)

The effect of this can also be noticed in the marginal drop in sales numbers of Vitara Brezza, which is down to 11K levels from the high of 14-15K levels.

I don't think Crysta is being lapped up by the Taxi market yet, still they are managing with the previous generation ones.

For the price segment Tucson is in, I think it is doing decent numbers. Agreed, the numbers of Ford and Toyota are better however we cannot the expect the same from Tucson due to the snob value of Hyundai and I think even Hyundai is aware of that and will be happy selling around 200 units on an average per month.

Same is the case with Elantra as well - with the cut throat competition from Corolla and Octavia, I think Elantra is still doing decent numbers. However, Hyundai might have expected some more numbers for this car considering Corolla selling more than double of what Elantra is managing.

An average of 4000 units per month is actually quite good for this segment unless it is named as "City" which used to sell 7-8K units per month during its peak period.

But Maruti has developed an in house 1.5 litre diesel engine for the upcoming Ciaz. Why would it then buy Fiat's engine?

Even if Fiat is offering a bargain, it can still never beat an engine that has been manufactured in house in terms of cost competitiveness.

Nice observation & analysis.

You have to give credit to Maruti. This change of trend would have scared Maruti not long ago (3-4 years back). Most of the folks didn't believe that Maruti could sell 10L+ rupees car but here they are with Brezza, Ciaz which are segment leaders & S-Cross which is doing above average numbers as well. I am flabbergast by the fact that they have achieved this with same old 1.3 MJD :Shockked:

Maruti is indeed a case study for corporate world. Maruti folks didn't give excuses like that they don't have a proper engine for 10L+ rupees car. They somehow achieved their target with sheer will & hard work.

Few observations -

Datsun - Redigo doing some numbers, nothing else selling.

Ford - Ecosport doing good as usual. Endeavor doing some good numbers.

Fiat - New Linea and Punto are more rare to spot than Merc, BMW and Audi's on Indian roads now.

Honda - City and WRV doing some numbers. Amaze doing career low this month. Rest nothing to write about.

Hyundai - i10 Grand, i20 and Creta are doing some really great numbers as usual. Rest all are down.

Jeep - Settling to 2K mark now. People are still waiting for 2-3 months for delivery, not sure what is the issue?

Mahindra - Good month for Bolero, Scorpio, others doing ok-ok numbers. Bring on MPV with a bang Mahindra.

Maruti - clap:Dzire No 1 again !! Good month overall. Top 20 has 11 from Maruti speaks all. Ciaz number 1 again is great news. S-cross doing good numbers.

Nissan-Renault - Only Kwid is selling, rest all are miserably down. Duster numbers are big worry for them. Captur is a flop.

Skoda-VW - Nothing great, same story from last few months. Nothing flashy or great.

Tata - Tiago and Nexon doing good numbers, Tigor is back with some good numbers as well.

Toyota - Innova and Fortuner doing all business.

Well, most of Maruti's success can be attributed to the 1.3 diesel from Fiat. Behind every successful diesel Maruti sold, there was a Fiat! :D Given the reputation and goodwill this Fiat-Maruti combo has garnered, I'm sure the people at MSIL are considering to replicate it with the 1.5 from the Fiat again. Their in-house developed engine on the Celerio was a disaster. Celerio was a cheap mistake and MSIL got away with it. They can't make that mistake on an executive sedan in the million rupee category. Also note that Maruti priced their diesel models competitively and still managed to succeed albeit paying a royalty to Fiat.

Yes, they've developed an in-house engine and it's cost effective to use than pay a royalty. But MSIL priced their diesel models competitively and still managed to succeed albeit paying a royalty to Fiat. Also remember developing an engine is one thing but to make it super-reliable (a reputation MSIL has built over the years) is something else. There are some manufacturers who churn out engines and have no qualms about using paying customers for sand box testing! It takes years to build trust and days to break it. MSIL will not want to jeopardise their success streak.

Also, sadly, the future of diesel is bleak (I really hope diesels don't disappear!). It might make more business sense to use a tried and tested engine from Fiat for the limited time frame (again, hopefully not!) that diesel will be endorsed than continue pouring in milliions on developing and re-tooling assembly lines for the new engine.

Just my thoughts and if I was making decisions at MSIL, I'd definitely grab Fiat's offer.

I think the effect is on Nexon more than Brezza

Thanks Aditya !

What goes wrong with Ford sales number that I am unable to comprehend. In CS and hatchback volume segment they have Aspire and Figo which are very competent products particularly in diesel avatars. As per market feedback, a Ford car rides well, is smart and good looking, reliable enough with very reasonable cost of ownership. However, people prefer to wait even six months to get a Dzire rather than buying a Ford Aspire

So, in my opinion, eligibility of products in “me too’ slice is not the major deciding criteria in decision making process rather more emphasis is given on perceived assurance on one’s buying decision. And obviously, perception on brands rules!

Take another case, Ford’s Ecosport is a successful product given the fact that they were pioneer and created that segment in India. But once again, the late entrant Maruti Brezza with no strong USP is selling twice the number what Ecosport scores. So, are we as customer, would like to move in comfort zone only or are other manufacturers not nimble enough to contest?

I may be wrong but I think, unless there is some kind of “intellectual property right” protection, Americans or Europeans cannot stand out in competition particularly when competitors are from Japan or Korea! Be it LCD TV or Car!

At the end of the day, the market is tilted towards unhealthy oligopolistic situation in favor of just two manufacturers! Hyundai is milking with their products and Maruti is reaping profit with volumes!

Don't know which city you're in but from what I've observed, commercially registered crystas can be found way more than private owned ones.
Infact i would say more than 50% registrations in Bangalore are for commercial purposes!

After the top 10, every alternate position is still a Maruti :)

Revenue calculation for last month sales, Feb '18, has been completed and posted here.

Tata is surely back in the market with some impressive numbers for Nexon and Tiago.
Clearly shows that the right product sells even with limited advertisement and just the right amount of word of mouth feedback.

Another observation, which needs a mention is that there are 5 C2 segment car models amongst the top 20 sellers for the current month. Higher than any other segment on the top 20 listing. Clearly indicates the movement to safer, better built and sturdy cars and the increased spending power.

Just a few reasons from my side, why people prefer the Desire:
1. More space,features.
2. Much better performing, fuel efficient Petrol. (Market has swung wildly towards petrol these days)
3. It's a Suzuki.

Majority households in India have one car only. Hence for most of the car buying public, after sales service and peace of mind are very big factors in car ownership. These are areas where Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have established themselves. Their cars are feature loaded, stylish, up-market and most importantly have a high acceptability among the masses. When a non-enthusiast goes to buy a car, his immediate circle will be full of Maruti Suzukis and Hyundais and people will push him in that direction. Also there is a perception that Ford cars are troublesome and have high maintenance cost.

I myself have booked the new facelifted EcoSport. My uncle recently bought a Brezza, just because its a Maruti Suzuki, tried and tested engine, good mileage etc. He was telling me not to go for EcoSport as he had "heard" that Fords are expensive to maintain :Frustrati

Seeing the month after month trends, I am now seriously thinking if having booked Vento is a right decision or not. Getting this feeling that looking at the sales numbers, there is no room for Europeans or Americans in our soil not so late from now. That said, the reliability is amazing with Koreans and Japs.

Again, Nissan and Honda are Japs, but look at Suzuki. Going from strength to strength. Heck, they undercut their diesel counterpart in pricing despite the royalty to FIAT.

We are surely a complex, interesting, typical at times, frustrating customers!