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I recently traveled to many INDIAN cities in a span of a few weeks and was struck by how different car buying habits are in different parts of the country. I am going to make some comments based on my observations and want people to join in. Only people who travel often can really understand this.

Please note that I do not have any access to regional sales charts and these are based on my observation in the areas of the cities I traveled. Plus all my observations are on a relative basis, like more Lancers in Chennai than Bangalore etc. Also please make rational comments, when I say not many Balenos in Bangalore compared to Delhi, don’t come back saying that there are 4 Balenos in your building itself!!, because it dosent mean anything.

DELHI : Overall noticed a lot of upmarket cars compared to Bangalore. Lots of Camrys for some reason. Also a lot of New Honda Citys, every nook and corner.
Overall a lot of Maruti products on the streets. Also saw a lot of Balenos on the road, much much more than Bangalore.

BANGALORE: Lots of Baleno fans seems like, but no Balenos to be seen on the streets. Hardly see any Maruti 800 on the streets. Lots of Indicabs and Sumos. Crazy number of autos, all of the smoky 2-stroke variety.

COCHIN: Compared to Delhi say, very few upmarket cars like Corollas or NHCs. Also generally more diesels. Was really surprised to see brand new Ambassadors used for tourist taxis. Nowhere else I’ve spotted an Ambassador lately.

HYD: this info is many years old, but I observed a lot of Daewoo Matizes in Hyd compared to Bangalore. Bangalore is generally filled with Hyundai products like Santros and Accents.

CHENNAI: First thing that struck me was those large noisy diesel autos everywhere you see ferrying everything from people to livestock, not seen anywhere else. Really ruins the landscape. Other wise more of Lancers and Ikons compared to other cities.

Please also share your observations based on your travels and your thoughts on what could be influencing this.

Down south, the Lancers and Ikons would be popular because of their diesels. Lots of imports in Mumbai too.

Pune : NHCs by the truckload. And Santros and WagonRs. Because of the huge middle class we have here.

BANGALORE: Also lot of Swifts, compared to Pune and Mysore. Also lot of alloy wheels and modded cars compared to most other cities in India.

MYSORE: Lot of nothings. Mainly KL registered autorickshaws with openly turbocharged fare meters

CHENNAI: Absolutely right abt the diesel stretch ricks. Remember seeing more Tata cars than Hyundai

PUNE: Lots of CBZes. And Balenos. Decent rick drivers

NEW DELHI: Mostly C+/D segment cars. Atleast 2 per family. No modifications. All chaffeur driven

MUMBAI: Higher density of imported cars per square quintimeter(I made that up) than all other parts of India combined.

^^how true 99% of ricks run on kerosene.
b'lore registered cars are selling really well here.50% cars here are KA-01 to 05!!
Few months back we had an auto expo here,firzt time showcasing cars.

Balenos are a recent phenomenon. And Pulsars faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar outnumber the CBZs. Everybody and their aunt has one.


And its not just most expensive Jap/German machinery! Lots of smaller ones too. Like the Toyota Starlet/Corona/Corolla.

You mean used cars are brought to Mysore for resale?

My Observations
Bangalore - Santro, Wagon R, Swifts and Accents (Born and Bought up in Bangalore)

Chennai - Santro, Ikons (About 2 days in chennai)

Kerala is one place where the ambassador still lives on.One thing is for sure southern India definitely is obsessed with diesel.

Also I find quite a lot of innova's on the streets of bangalore,or maybe its more to do with me hoping to spot another innova on the road.

Compared to Karnataka, TN & Andhra I have seen more Mercs on the roads in Kerala.
Ambassadors are still favorites for many here. Especially amongst tour operators and taxi fleet owners. They say, Tourists prefer this car more than others. Wonder why only in Kerala!!

I get to see a lot of Super Bikes in Bangalore.

I've seen most Omni taxis in Bangalore.

Bike taxis! Yes, they do exist. Only seen and heard in Cochin. Most of them were Yamaha Enticers.

Most annoying automobiles on the roads are in Kerala. Yes, buses. Both government run and private are equally annoying and dangerous.

I've seen a lot of TVS 50s in TamilNadu. More than rest of india altogether counted.

I've seen most Accords in Delhi. Both, older and newer ones. Same with Corolla.

It's some time I was last in Mumbai. I remember only the PADMINI Taxis the most there. It was slowly being taken over by Indica I think. Lot of Esteems too.

Lot of tangas still operating in Delhi. So does in many UP towns.

Jeeps are the most loved vehicles in MP. Especially in and around Bhopal.

Jeeps are considered buses in parts of Haryana. And so is tractors. Of course, Tractor is used as a luxury vehicle transporting the bride, groom etc..

Oops! I almost forgot this. Kerala loves diesel.
Even luxury car buyers wouldn't care much for Petrol drinking ones if a diesel one is around. Sometimes the price difference would be thrice the amount of fuel one could ever burn in his whole life. Still, diesel is preferred here.

Delhi has a lot of the latest cars on the market hence a lot of Camry's. This is mainly a result of the show-off culture since everyone's gotta have a better car than the "Sharma's" next door!!

So you see a LOT of OHC, NHC, Accord, Camry, CR-V, Optra, Lancer etc. Diesel popular but not by a huge margin, also a HUGE market for SUV's like the Scorpio & Safari.

Modifications restricted to lots of crap stickers & a huge fascination for opaque tints on cars even on the windshield. These are mainly though due to all kinds of nefarious activities carried out in cars. Quite a fascination for LOUD music systems too so that all the neighbours & the dogs can listen to your crap taste in music.

Nowadays also a huge jump in imported cars especially ones which are officially available like Porsche's (Cayennes mainly), Merc & BMW's.

As for taxi's/call centre cabs the market is dominated by the Sumo & the now defunt Qualis (still very popular) with Tavera & Innova behind them. Lots of Auto's here all CNG & a few Amby/Indica/Omni's as taxis. Blueline buses are quite (in)famous as the killers of Delhi & are driven very dangerously at all times like the call centre cabs.

Overall lots of bikes and scooters in Bangalore and Pune. No other city has so manly 2 wheelers.

My observation is HYD has lot of Santros and Wagon-Rs. In the premium segments many Skodas. Have seen a decent number of Esteems, Scorpios and Palios too.

Not true.
Pulsars are outselling CBZ in large number. And there are still lot more City's than Baleno

Hey buddy, you have missed out the Octavias, NHCs, Fiestas and Accents ! ! !
And what about the indicabs and quallis??

PUNE : If someone is rich, they mostly prefer to have a Mercedes than any other luxury sedan, unlike Mumbai people, who buy other brands too. I read somewhere that Pune has the highest number of Mercs after Mumbai in India.