[Aditya]

Listed below are a couple of Indian cars that either:

- S-U-C-K

OR

- Are selling in numbers too low to justify their presence, and taking up valuable showroom space + management bandwidth

OR

- Are terribly outdated

OR

- All of the above

We think the models listed below deserve to be buried in 2021. In the new year, we ideally should start afresh, drop past baggage and eliminate bad habits. Do you agree? Should these cars RIP? There are other reasons behind our thinking = the reputation of lousy cars rubs off on the brand's good cars. Then, customers tend to avoid the carmaker in the future if they have had poor experiences with a car that sucks (just talk to any TUV300 AMT owner). Importantly, such models are an unnecessary weight on the OEM's shoulders and a drain on the management bandwidth. Sales teams waste a lot of time trying to make slow sellers move off showroom floors. These vehicles are a royal waste of showroom space, plant capacity and vendor factories. The poor vendors have to compulsorily support slow models, either because of other business provided by the OEM or contractual obligations.

We feel that manufacturers should trim the fat and spend their resources on promoting successful / upcoming products than the dead fish below. They say weight loss forms an overwhelming majority of New Year resolutions & these brands need to go on a diet. Interestingly, note the absence of Maruti & Tata from the list below . Reason = since the past couple of years, the 2 companies have aggressively discontinued slow sellers.

Be sure to check out our sales analysis thread prior to suggesting more cars! A model must be a poor seller to make it to this thread.

Datsun GO:


The Datsun brand itself was a mistake!! Bland to look at, spartan on the inside and with a tinny build, this is a cheap car. Indians have proven over & over again that they will buy a value-for-money car, but not one that screams CHEAP. It has struggled to sell even 50 units a month. Off with its head, we say!

Datsun GO+:


The concept of a VFM 7-seater wasn't wrong, but its execution was far superior in the same group's Renault Triber. Like its sibling above, this car also needs to GO (pun intended ). We might add, the Datsun brand itself needs to be buried. It stands for nothing & means nothing.

Ford Figo:


Enthusiasts will be disappointed with us including the Figo here as it's nice to drive, and a few of us prefer its clean styling. There is no doubt though that the car is outdated and no hatchback customer is even looking at it. Sales hover in the mere 200 - 300 range. Furthermore, its siblings - the Freestyle & Aspire - are selling in higher numbers.

Honda Jazz:


Trust the new & confused Honda India to kill what could have been a strong seller. Honda goofed up many things with the current-gen Jazz and as a result, its selling merely ~600 units a month (competitors deliver 10 - 15 times higher volumes). Honda has also given it step-motherly treatment when it comes to strategy. The Jazz was the last car in its portfolio to be given a BS6 compliant engine. Pre-Covid sales were equally unimpressive with a 2019 average of ~800 cars / month. Honda should have chopped it when they took out the axe to the Civic & CR-V.

Hyundai Elantra:


With the demise of the Civic, the Hyundai Elantra is the only surviving sedan in the D1 segment...a segment that has been chopped into pieces by the crossovers. It's not a bad car by any means, but it has not managed to sell in good enough numbers for Hyundai to keep it going. The company deserves equal blame as Hyundai simply doesn't support its premium cars (same story with the Sonata, Tucson, Santa Fe...). Apart from the month of January, in all of 2020, it could not manage to sell even 50 units in a single month. Its pre-covid 2019 sales average was a pitiful 66 sales / month.

Mahindra eVerito:


Cars like this give EVs a bad name! Thank God we have other nice EVs in the market (Nexon, ZS EV, Kona, EQC) and that Tesla is coming soon to save the "electric car" image. The Mahindra eVerito is cheap, outdated, overpriced & an awful performer. The only way Mahindra will get someone to buy it is by putting a gun to their head.

Mahindra KUV100:


BHPians went YUCK when this car was launched and its even yuckier today. This is one of the ugliest cars on sale in India. Why should Mahindra persist with a flop car that doesn't even do 50 sales a month? This is the kind of model that is forced down the dealerships' throats (Mahindra to dealer "we'll send you 100 Thars if you take 5 KUV100s in the next shipment").

Nissan Kicks:


Nissan appears to have hit the bull's eye with the Magnite. We feel that the company (which just got off the ventilator & walked out of the ICU) should spend its time on the Magnite, and not bother with the Kicks which failed on launch itself. Not a bad car per se, but it wasn't priced to sell. No Indian will bite into the Nissan pie unless the price is irresistible. Period. While Renault pulled the plug on the Captur, Nissan has kept the Kicks going which is a pointless exercise IMHO. Even in the second half of 2019 (pre-Covid), the Kicks maintained an average of 265 units / month.

Toyota Yaris:


Toyota India is turtle slow to launch new cars, and then equally slow to take them off the market. The Yaris was introduced in 2018 to take on the Honda City, Maruti Ciaz and Hyundai Verna. However, its sales never really managed to take off. In recent times, it has struggled to find 400 takers on a monthly basis. Even in the pre-covid times, there were some months of 2019 where the flopped car didn't even sell 100 units. The limited space at the back, boring engine & inflated price-tag are major turn-offs too. Toyota India should accept that it is primarily a seller of UVs & Marutis in India.

Volkswagen Vento:


A lovely car to drive, no doubt. But Skoda (currently boss of the VAG group in India), the Rapid (which outsells the Vento FOUR TIMES over) and the VW brand (which has completely lost interest in India) have killed the Vento. Being an old product that has been around since 2010 doesn't help either. We feel the Vento should be buried, and just the Rapid should continue.

[GTO]

There are two more cars that are poor sellers, but we didn't put them in the list.

- Marazzo: Doesn't deserve to die because it's the only viable option for those wanting something more than the Ertiga, but don't have the budget for the pricey Innova. I'll go a step further and state that the Marazzo is one of the best MPVs on sale in India. Drive one and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Check out Aditya's & Viddy's driving reports.

- Duster: Sorted suspension, FAST 1.3L Turbo, smooth CVT available, well-priced for a 154 BHP crossover (my review here). And it outsells the newer Kicks 3 - 5 times over! I wouldn't buy it over the competition, yet there is no debate that the old Duster does offer something very unique in the 15-lakh rupee crossover space. Wish Renault sold that competent AWD option too for us tourers.

[Hayek]

Disagree strongly with this list, especially with the presence of the Figo (my sister in law owns one - the only car in its segment with 6 air bags), Jazz, Vento and Elantra. All of these are perfectly good cars - which the Indian customer does not like for unfathomable reasons. Agree with the presence of the Datsuns and the E-Verito on this list - am ambivalent about the Kicks, Yaris and KUV100.

The cars that NEED to die are in my view only the following Death Traps on Wheels

- Maruti Alto
- Maruti Eeco
- Maruti Celerio
- Maruti SPresso
- Renault Kwid
- Mahindra Bolero

in short any car that fails to obtain at least a 2 star GNCAP rating, or is over 15 years old. Frankly these cars are at present killing their owners.

In an ideal world, I would have wanted even all the two star rated cars to die - but realise that we would lose almost all our top selling models in that case - so let’s take it one step at a time, and get rid of the most egregious cases of vehicles designed to kill first.

[CEF_Beasts]

Another car is the WR-V; has the lowest sales in it’s segment, anemic 1.2L petrol and no automatics when both CVTs for the 1.2L petrol and 1.5L diesel are readily available with Honda. Also Honda’s reluctance to plonk City’s 1.5L petrol motor.

[GTO]

Guys, please note this list is from the BUSINESS perspective and the brand's POV, not safety.

From the opening post:

Be sure to check out our sales analysis thread prior to suggesting more cars! A model must be a poor seller to make it to this thread.

Originally Posted by Hayek

The cars that NEED to die are in my view only the following Death Traps on Wheels

- Maruti Alto

Don't want to take the thread anymore off-topic, but which alternative safe car for 3.5 lakhs can I buy new? Am not speaking as a self-proclaimed used car fan, as many 1st-time car buyers know nothing about pre-owned cars and simply aren't comfortable buying used. Let's continue the discussion on the other thread (Indian Nano, Alto, Figo, i10 & Polo FAIL Global NCAP Safety Test).

[saikishor]

I really feel the Tigor should be axed as soon as possible. The car has been showing a steady increase in sales numbers, but I feel it doesn’t deserve to be on sale anymore. The sales numbers of the Tigor are no where close to the Tiago. It has a lame engine and an equally anemic electric counterpart to make things even worse. If Tata gives it a better engine, then I feel it is worth considering. I am a huge fan of its styling, but I was disappointed to see the interior of the BS6 version. IMHO, Tata should axe the Tigor and if they are really interested to sell a sedan, then they should rather start working on the rumored Altroz based sedan, give it the turbo petrol and the diesel from the Altroz, fix all the quality issues and then launch the product.

[abhishek46]

Some additions from my side, based on lack-luster sale chart performance.

Mahindra:
1. Alturas - Very poor sales
2. Verito Electric - Outdated, Almost Zero Sales.

Maruti Suzuki:
1. Ignis - Mediocre sales, despite bearing a Suzuki Badge.
2. S-Cross - Poor Sales, despite regular product updates.

[Rajeevraj]

Personally don't fully agree with the yardstick assumed to come up with the list. 'SUCK' is a pretty subjective thing and 'Outdated' need not necessarily mean bad. Numbers of course don't lie, but again should not be just looked at in the overall context of the segment.

While I agree with cars in the list that sell in double digits in segments where the top sellers sell in 5 digits (For example: Datsun, KUV), in my view car's that can sell a few hundred units(For Example: Jazz, Figo, Vento, Duster) do satisfy the need of a niche customer who sees something in these models that meets their needs as compared to the top sellers in the segment. In addition, many of these models are from brands that really do not have any blockbuster or 'big seller' model to push. So killing them probably takes away sales that help pay a few bills.

If we say they should die, it is a slippery slope and finally we will need to end up following the 'herd mentality' and buy only the leaders in the segment and we'll probably go back 20-30 years where we had only a handful of models to chose from.

[DicKy]

Wholeheartedly agree with four of the entries, cause they are just horrible cars to start with.
The two Datsuns and the two Mahindras.
Datsun brand as a while was a futile exercise.
eVerito - The company which had supposedly a headstart in EVs with the Reva purchase should know better.

KUV100- Only reason for its existence is maybe with its absence Mahindra showrooms will suddenly jump to 10 lakhs+ showroom, with nothing to show in the 5-8 lakhs segment. With no news of any other sub 10 lakhs Mahindra on development, guess the KUV100 will survive. But like the Verito, in an EV version long after its ICE counterparts have departed.

Rest, well they don't deserve to die. It is either the pricing, or company apathy or just our market tastes.

Figo- Hurts every time I see the sales figures. Add to that the guilt of not buying it eventhough had the chance.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4976868 (Cars that you regret NOT buying!)

With the Ford Brazil plant closure and Ford India's uncertainty, even the next gen Ecosport is on an anvil, let alone the next gen Figo.

Jazz - Brilliant product, let down by the company. If the next gen Jazz is too expensive for India, okay. Don't bring the next gen Jazz, but stop the present one and bring in the City hatchback. Just don't keep flogging the old model, especially with that weak 1.2l.

Elantra - (sigh) for the the entire segment. Looks like it will be a Skoda speciality segment in a couple of years.

Kicks - Well, you can't be a one-car showroom. Let people come in the showroom thanks to the Magnite. End up either seeing the Magnite as a bargain to the Kicks. Or (rarely) fall for the Kicks after not impressed by the Magnite.
Either way, depending on the Magnite's success, Nissan will decide to leave India altogether, not just the Kicks.

Vento - Hmm...Unlike the next gen Rapid which hopes to sell alongside the Kushaq, don't think the Taigun would get a sedan counterpart.

Yaris - Simply because it is the only proper Toyota one can buy under 10 lakhs. The next proper one is double the amount.
Expect the Yaris to be axed once there is another Toyota model or even Toyota-Maruti co-developed model under 15 lakhs is launched.

Originally Posted by saikishor

I really feel the Tigor should be axed as soon as possible. The car has been showing a steady increase in sales numbers, but I feel it doesn’t deserve to be on sale anymore. The sales numbers of the Tigor are no where close to the Tiago

Agree.
Was about to post the same, but then looking at the sales figures which is surging recently and also because the sales figures of the Tigor maybe larger than the combined sales of the others in the list.


I like the styling, design language and boot integration of the Tigor. But still can't find a proper reason to buy the Tigor instead of the Tiago. Well, what's the difference between a Swift-Dzire one may ask. The market has the answer.

The Tigor really deserves a better engine or atleast interiors.
Maybe Tata knows it. That's why the Goshaq is on development faster than the next gen Tiago.

[Nav-i-gator]

Man

Apart form the Datsun couple, It's sad to say "you deserve to die" to any car listed in the OP. I would rather say - these cars deserve to sell more.

[rajess_in]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Some additions from my side, based on lack-luster sale chart performance.

Mahindra:
1. Alturas - Very poor sales

I heard that Alturas is already stopped from sales since Oct-Nov and looking at the current SYMC situation no positive outlook for further sales.

[avira_tk]

I can't believe people are suggesting the Alto, Kwid and bolero to be axed. Care to name a few alternative models at the price band with similar utility? Entry level cars when bought new have an appeal, not everyone wants sloppy seconds whatever the value proposition is.

If there was a list of cars that deserve to be on the scrap heap, it'll be the license Raj junk like the Ambassador.

[ramki.grandhi]

Excellent thread. Above posts cover decent list, which i agree with.

Here is my take: Call me old fashioned but I feel any car that doesn't have 4 star GNCAP rating deserves to die than letting people die inside of that car in very few unfortunate situations.


From business perspective, Camry doesnt deserve to live because of price tag, numbers, and kit it offers compared to Superb.

[ashis89]

Most of the names suggested above are already selling very low numbers. But there are a few which are still top sellers but should be put to rest.

Just too dated in today's market, I would say Mahindra Bolero, Mahindra Scorpio and the various iterations of Force Trax

[AYP]

I really hope that the Elantra is never discontinued. Its presence gives people a choice to buy a sedan in a segment which is largely dominated by SUVs. I am really looking forward to the next gen Elantra along with the Octavia.

Another factor to note is that the presence of the Elantra in the segment will have at least some effect on the way Skoda is going to price the Octavia. I am pretty sure that the effect is going to be minimal, but at the very least, Skoda will be vary of the fact that an alternate does exist in the segment which is equipped with a diesel engine and will perhaps get a turbo petrol in the next gen if launched in India.