[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Mystic

Whenever I see news about inventory levels of cars rising, I am becoming uncomfortable. The reason being rains now a days are creating havoc in all cities in India due to extreme weather conditions with Instagram reels showing brand new cars half submerged in water. I hope that the dealers have ethics and professionalism not to hide a car immersed in flood waters in their stock yard and sell the lemon to an unsuspecting customer. This is the reason I look forward to buying a car from a dealer who has a personal care towards us by being a somebody who is known to our friends circle. At least we will be saved from the lemon as there are no lemon laws in India to fight in case of an unfortunate situation.

Why are you blaming dealers alone? There may have been plenty of cars lying in the factory yards too.

[shortbread]

Originally Posted by searacer932

Maruti's market share was in the range of 48-49% few years back and it has now reduced to around 40%. Appears that they have lost market share to TAMO and they are struggling to make an impact in >15 lacs segment. If this trend continues then may be theire market share could come down further. Thoughts from people on this please?

Maruti is currently trailing in competitive segments where rivals offer superior products, prompting the company to enhance its market presence through increased stock for dealers and substantial discounts. Additionally, the small car segment, which includes models like the Alto and Spresso, is also facing challenges, as even the newly launched Swift has not significantly boosted sales.

However, Maruti has several offerings, such as Ertiga, Eeco, and Dzire, that dominate their niches with virtually no competition. Targeting the fleet taxi segments have really helped maruti's fortunes. By spending minimally on marketing and promotions, these models generate impressive margins, but excluding them highlights the struggles Maruti faces in the broader market.

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Why are you blaming dealers alone? There may have been plenty of cars lying in the factory yards too.

Interesting. As the dealers are usually more knowledgeable in identifying a flood damaged car than a customer, can dealer reject the cars allocated to him if he suspects something fishy. May be, both OEM and dealers are partners in crime and the end goal is to pass on the issue to customers to fight legally.

[Nanolover]

I have a sneaking suspicion that maruti is dumping inventory ahead of the festive season or in a desperate attempt to show market share. There is no reason to validate a sudden spike in what is a mediocre product like the brezza . The ertiga is for the taxi segment with minimal private buyers. Spresso , celerio,Alto are very costly for the basic engineering and weird styling they offer,no wonder the general public have ignored these products.

Maybe will get to know a clear picture once retail numbers are announced.

[gopalnt]

Observed a trend for the past 2 months (could be true for previous months too, but not sure) - between Creta and Seltos, it is the Creta that is winning. But between Venue and Sonet, it is the Sonet that is winning! What could be the reason for this?

Also, VW/Skoda jointly are selling 3000+ each of Sedan twins and SUV twins. I think they will be happy about that, considering their dealership reach across the country.

[Carma2017]

Originally Posted by shortbread

Maruti is currently trailing in competitive segments where rivals offer superior products, prompting the company to enhance its market presence through increased stock for dealers and substantial discounts. Additionally, the small car segment, which includes models like the Alto and Spresso, is also facing challenges, as even the newly launched Swift has not significantly boosted sales.

However, Maruti has several offerings, such as Ertiga, Eeco, and Dzire, that dominate their niches with virtually no competition. Targeting the fleet taxi segments have really helped maruti's fortunes. By spending minimally on marketing and promotions, these models generate impressive margins, but excluding them highlights the struggles Maruti faces in the broader market.

Suzuki has a mixed situation in Indian market.

If we look at the ~4.0m and ~4.3m vehicle sales in H1 2024, the Suzuki-Toyota twins has 41% (Leader) and 34% (Number-2) 34% Market share respectively, which isn't too bad. Suzuki does have another launch pending in ~4.3m segment in 2025 which might improve things further.

Of course, Suzuki is struggling in ~3.8m segment (which can be called the Punch segment ) and the amongst the Ladder on Frame (LOF) UVs which again can be called the Mahindra Segment. Since, Suzuki does not have any EVs yet, so there is no competition. But Suzuki does have plans for both EVs (to be unveiled at Mobility Shows in early 2025 would be my guess) and ~3.8m SUVs, so can't rule them out yet. Of course, LOF UV battle is lost. And the D-Segment (Tucson and its like) is again simply not Suzuki territory, nor do they have any plans I guess.

It is wasy to write off Ertiga, EECO and Dzire as Taxi vehicles but do we know the extent of the sales as Taxis amongst total volumes? I don't, so cannot comment. But typically 20-30% registrations are for Taxis. Same is True for Hyundai Excent or TATA Tigor as well. It is actually beneficial if they have a toe-hold there as shared mobility is the future in India as well and a good hold there will serve Suzuki/Hyundai/TATA well.

We do not need any talk about Hatchback segment as they are undisputed kings there due to lack of competition.

What is truly Suzuki Achilles heal in India is it's image, be it in Safety or Technology.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Nanolover

I have a sneaking suspicion that maruti is dumping inventory ahead of the festive season or in a desperate attempt to show market share. There is no reason to validate a sudden spike in what is a mediocre product like the brezza .
Maybe will get to know a clear picture once retail numbers are announced.

Maruti Brezza has a proven albeit modest petrol engine in terms of performance, but it is a keeper in terms of reliability. It also has an equally reliable 6 speed torque convertor AT compared to DCTs or AMTs of the competitors. The car has enough space for 4 adults and their weekend luggage, the widest network for sales and service, and decently equipped with respect to features. It has also been tested to have fairly good safety standards as per pre-2022 GNCAP protocol. I wouldn't call it a mediocre product by any stretch of imagination.

[White bird]

Maruti Brezza is definitely worth its cost. It cannot be called a mediocre vehicle , compared to vehicles of the same price range that are available in the country. I feel that the petrol version is not as good as the earlier diesel version but it is, definitely a reliable vehicle.
The fact is that people are not going for just a car but an expensive car. I was surprised to note that a relatively expensive vehicle like Hycross is selling more than an Alto.

[Nanolover]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Maruti Brezza has a proven albeit modest petrol engine in terms of performance, but it is a keeper in terms of reliability. It also has an equally reliable 6 speed torque convertor AT compared to DCTs or AMTs of the competitors. The car has enough space for 4 adults and their weekend luggage, the widest network for sales and service, and decently equipped with respect to features. It has also been tested to have fairly good safety standards as per pre-2022 GNCAP protocol. I wouldn't call it a mediocre product by any stretch of imagination.

Sorry if I went overboard in my description. But still, selling TWICE the numbers of it's next closest competitor ( who have diesel,turbo petrol and ev variants) beggars beleif!

Now rationally thinking ,I think maruti might be pushing more stock down south in Kerala in anticipation of the onam season. That's why across the board increase in numbers for kerala loving models like wagon r and ertiga also.

[W.A.G.7]

Well, one of those 9007 dispatches for the Mahindra XUV700 is mine! WRT the numbers, it will be interesting to see the Curvv Vs Basalt fight, although both are in different "segments" money wise. For Tata, the Punch seems to be an overall rounded package. It's a bit sad to see Tata focusing only on the Punch, when they can actually upgrade the Altroz and make it an even more better car (since we own an Altroz and we know for sure that it's a perfect city slicker); scoring even more brownie points in the long run.

And yes, lest we forget, those 6 owners of the X-Trail, a big salute to them.

[sgmuser]

Tough times ahead for auto-makers. Thar, XUV, Scorpion N once with waiting periods on discounts currently. X3 is on offer at 63 lakhs which includes insurance + service package, which is being advertised in Instagram heavily with all these details upfront. Imagine if one goes to a BMW showroom with a cheque. New X1 sells at 56-63 approximately. Same applies to Audi, with very similar offers. Car with 2 years waiting period - Hycross is being offers some discounts. Maruti is running campaigns for long already for even their hot selling models, what to say of Jimny or Fronx or GV.

But the worst part is, people will still buy these cars with the attractive proposition around the festival period and the roads will be congested more and more. Places like Chennai with narrow single lanes and one and half lanes mostly, are already squeezed to the maximum and I think 3 or 4 times before taking the car, or I just ask the call driver mostly.

[Turbolove]

I'm quite surprised to see the Comet do 1000+ units per month consistently despite its pricing and being a niche product. Shows quite well on how customers are willing to give a chance to unique products.

Drop in Jimny sales was expected given that discounts are over.
Thar 3D sales for September onwards will worth looking out for given that the Roxx's pricing is out and will soon start shipping.

[vzvish91]

I always wonder why does XL6 not sell that well?

For a sub 17Lakh onroad top variant in Gujarat, this petrol/cng car offers almost everything that a family 6seater needs. IIRC when compared to top selling Ertiga, variant-on-variant the price delta is about 2Lakhs onroad.
Last year I bought XL6 Alpha+ MT and it costed me almost 15L onroad Gujarat with few accessories. At that time I couldn't think of an overall better 6/7seater car than this in that price segment.
Am I missing something?

[Flyingdutchman]

Honda Elevate's underwhelming performance is quite puzzling. You will find many fanboys waging war in comments section of every other Creta/Seltos/Hyrider/Grand Vitara YouTube video and twitter feed; proving how Elevate is a superior product but still when I see sales figures Iike these, It confuses me. Maybe potential buyer's don't really care about such things.

Surprisingly every other car in this segment is doing great sales number barring offcourse Elevate. Creta is doing unheard numbers for a Crossover. Seltos is not far behind. Grand Vitara is doing close to 10k a month even Toyota is cashing on this wave.

What went wrong with Elevate is a potential MBA study. Future seems grim for Honda.

[Vizay]

Why Oct-23 is coming after Dec-23? Excel playing tricks?
Please check.