[Dusk Tiger]

What an interesting and nostalgia inducing thread. The first thing that struck my mind was the first generation TVS Apache iesurge. I can never forget this ad. Sorry about the poor quality. That is the only option I could find.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXUGFbUtrTM

[chinkara]

Personally, if we are talking about really smart moves that revolutionized the industry, I would say:
1. Maruti 800
2. 4 stroke engine bikes
3. People carrier (Bolero / Sumo)
4. Swift and premium hatch segment (then premium)
5. RE and category creation
6. Ecosport and category creation (globally)
7. Qualis and category creation
8. Innove to kill Qualis and create new category
9. Ace (in CV space)
10. i20 because it changed the mindset of the Indian consumer - push towards features

[jasmeetsingh]

Renault Kwid
Suzuki Hayabusa CKD
Harley all CKD models
Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R CKD
Yamaha 2008 R1 India launch

[advaninilesh]

Although this doesn't directly come from the manufacturer and can be considered off topic but very relevant considering the automobile industry, I think introduction of add on covers like the Zero Deprecation, RSA, Engine Protect by the insurance companies has completely revolutionized motor insurance in my opinion.

[Carpainter]

Interesting thread. My list would be:


M800/Omni: For giving us that first car ownership experience at a not so premium price. Sans Ambassador, it was not easy to own a car that were also cheap.


Daewoo Cielo/ Opel Astra: For giving the first car to buy as a status symbol in our society.


Maruti Zen: For that typical kid of a rich family. This car was a fan favourite and had a real cult following.


Maruti Esteem: Before the launch of City, this was the car to go for if you had enough vitamin-M and you wanted a fancy sedan. Yes this car gave the taste of owning a sedan to the masses.


Tata Sumo: Gave us the taste of owning a big Suv like car at a cheap price. The only viable people mover before Qualis.



Santro/WagonR: As pointed out before these two started the tall boy design language in our market and they were instant hit. Too bad that Santro had been discontinued. Hope the new Santro will be able to live up to its previous glory.


City/Fiesta: Probably the first drivers' car in our market. If one had enough money and didn't want to be driven around in a dull WagonR or Amby, these two gave the real thrill of driving a pocket rocket at a reasonable price.


Corolla: Probably Civic should also be named here but Corolla became more of a household name in India and a true example of a luxury ride barring germans.


Qualis: The first Suv/Muv in India with good reliability and ride quality and the breakaway from the mundane Sumo. Passed the baton to Innova which carried it successfully and set benchmarks.


Octavia: The first proper European sedan with build quality like never seen before. Add to that the driving dynamics and the car became iconic even though it was not particularly cheap.


In two wheeler space the stalwarts were Kinetic Honda, Bajaj Chetak, Hero Honda Splender, Suzuki Samurai, Yezdi, Rajdoot and then on Pulsar, Activa, Yamaha FZ and R1 and the likes.

[Samba]

Another smart move is in the making. That's Toyota and Maruti joining hands together!

Toyota do not have much market share with the Liva, so a Toyota Baleno can bring them some numbers, plus Toyota do not have any plan to launch their Rav4 or Rush. So getting the Brezza should be a smart move too. Moreover both these cars fared well in the recent crash test too.

On the other hand Maruti do not have any D segment sedan as of now. So getting the Altis should be profitable for them.

Toyota taking help from Maruti for the mass market and Maruti taking help from Toyota for the premium segment. This should turn out to be a master stroke.

[r0nit7]

Originally Posted by Samba

Another smart move is in the making. That's Toyota and Maruti joining hands together!

Smart move - Yes.
For Toyota - Absolutely yes
For Maruti - I have my doubts

Just think about it - would Toyota have any trouble selling a 10L rupee premium hatch or CSUV, hell no! Its the cream of the Indian car segment.
But would Maruti have the same sort of success in selling a 20L sedan (or a 35L SUV, if they're feeling adventurous), I don't think so. Especially since the Altis itself is doing just ~300 units a month.

[silverado]

Lot of things to discuss in this thread.
The one's which come to my mind are :

1) MSIL going from Flop VERSA to EECO.
2) Introduction of TATA ACE - Game changer in last mile delivery.
3) Wagon R CNG - revolutionized OLA UBER.

[ACM]

Interesting thread. Good Idea.

For Me:

1) TATA Motors entering Passenger vehicles segment with Indica after testing waters with Estate and Sierra.

2) Mahindra introducing Scorpio at a significant discount over the Safari with 7/8 seats rather than jump seats on the Safari.

3) Mahindra again introducing XUV500 after the Aria again at a significant discount over the Aria.

4) TATA bringing in AMT which is now standard.

5) Fiat selling its 1.3D MJ engines by the Tons.

6) TATA bringing in what people thought was a one of custom show model Nexon as the actual production design.

7) Maruti Swift and Desire iterations. Swift changed perceptions about how a car should look.

8) Eon told us that cheap like Logan need not mean an absence of shape.

9) Honda bringing in the V-tec in the CITY, then forgetting about it and then getting the Mojo back.

10) Skoda Octavia introducing us to what European cars are.

11) Indigo CS brought CS versions to India.

12) Duster brought lightweight SUVs

13) EcoSport Spare Wheel on Boot like the original Safari.

14) Nano and Kwid brought new segments and new features and new price points with a twist

[jpcoolguy]

1. One in making - the launch of electric scooters by Ather Energy. Though, the e-scooters are there for some time either they are very much speep-limited and range-limited (Hero Electric) or of Chinese origin (Okinawa). May be after a decade, we may discuss Ather as one of the revolutionary in electric scooter market and I hope I am proved right.

2. Pulsar 150 - proved that the 150 cc "premium" bikes have place in our Indian Motorcycle market and sold like hot cakes. I am sure almost everyone would have owned one or yearned to own one at the start of their motorcycling life.

3. Yamaha R15 - one that gave the taste of a true sports bike in an affordable manner. No wonder, in its 3rd iteration the sales have almost tripled.

4. RE Classic 350 - enough said already by others.

[kskthere]

To bring back a not-so-popular car's name (Baleno) and to give it a new lease of life through a NEW car (a different segment altogether), in itself, is one of the smart and bold moves done by Maruti's think tank.

Probably, the name "BALENO" must have been very close to their hearts, or maybe Maruti did not want the name to be obsolete; whatever the reason may be, it surely proved to be a masterstroke by them, for Baleno becoming a runaway success, crossing more than 4-lakh sales figure just under 3 years, and still going strong.

[diwa]

I am really surprised to see that the modest TVS 50 missing in the list. Also, I would add the Bajaj M 80 to the list.

[Samba]

Tata Ace

Just struck my mind.

Tata Ace should get a mention in this thread. It was one of the most smart move by Tata motors in the commercial segment !

It was smartly placed between the load carrier three wheeler's and the Tata 207/Mahindra Bolero pickup trucks. Eventually the Tata Ace killed almost both its above and lower segment and created a segment of its own. The target customers of the 3 wheeler load carrier's are spending a bit more and getting the Tata Ace and people with the budget of a Tata 207/Mahindra Bolero pickup truck are saving their money and getting the Tata Ace too!

Over the years it proved to be super reliable. It offers good mileage plus can carry decent load too. Plus there is no doubt that its a market hit.

Pic source - Google