Chevy Spark @ 2.89 lacs. With air-con! Now 2.66

BUSA · 4th February 2008, 19:02

Quote:

Spark now comes with ABS, airbags and some onboard digital features!

Sparks instrument cluster is on the wrong side itself.

Quote:

What do so many price cuts do to the brand equity or market reputation?

Poor resale value.

mithun · 5th February 2008, 07:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by RROD

But will this hurt the Alto sales.
junta will blindly pick a Maruti over Chevy

It's not going to affect Alto in any way.

1st - Alto is having a strong brand tag in India and Spark the opposite. Alto is a highly competent car in it's price territory and is going strong since it's inception.

2nd - GM don't have the production capacity.

jaibir · 5th February 2008, 07:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithun

It's not going to affect Alto in any way.

1st - Alto is having a strong brand tag in India and Spark the opposite. Alto is a highly competent car in it's price territory and is going strong since it's inception.

2nd - GM don't have the production capacity.

I think a large part of the Alto's strength stems from its FE, which is well ahead of the Santro/WagonR/Spark contingent

On production capacity, I think GM is in the process of setting up a new plant. There was talk earlier of price cuts on the Spark to drive volume when that came on stream. Not sure if that's happened yet

CrAzY dRiVeR · 5th February 2008, 08:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithun

2nd - GM don't have the production capacity.

GM hasnt been able to sell what it makes, so does it make a difference?

Remember the hype sorrounding the Spark before and after its launch? Everybody was interested in Spark only, and there were so many such threads in team-bhp too. However, GM could not cash in on the hype due to poor pricing policies and the occassional 50k discounts.

Ajaybiz · 5th February 2008, 08:58

What about existing owners who even didnt got the 50K discount last year?Heard lots of things from them that they are wooried about Sparks future, their main concern is it may again repeat its own history.

esteem_lover · 5th February 2008, 09:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

What about existing owners who even didnt got the 50K discount last year?Heard lots of things from them that they are wooried about Sparks future, their main concern is it may again repeat its own history.

this is why a maruti is a safe bet, but GM is getting there.

btirthankar · 5th February 2008, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkm

It will be 3.67 for PS version

Now the truth is revealing. That ad was for the no frills version- matt bumper variant.

The Spark is a good car, better than the Santro and Alto.

And note: apart from a strong body shell it has a engone guard too.

thalavoy · 5th February 2008, 13:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinaykiran79

Chevy spark is the first to cut the small car price..... well its called Nano effect

You mean 'El Nano' effect

Xehaust · 5th February 2008, 19:41

Sad to see such competent cars go down this way due to bad policies in marketing and pricing. GM is holding itself back from being right up there in India. O well, its helping our very own Maruti so

hehe

sunil8089 · 8th February 2008, 02:18

Who said Spark failed in the market? Believe me, this is the only small car which is successful all the five continents. It is a success in India too. I think most of us believe that the low sales figures are because of low demand. But in reality it is a supply problem. I know people who booked Spark and are still waiting for the delivery.

Currently GM has its production facility in Halol, Gujrath, where they manufacture everything from Spark to Optra. But now they are setting up a second plant at Telagon in Maharashtra. Once this plant is over, I hope most of these supply constraints will be over.

Some observations about Spark in Indian market is:

1. Spark had a real hype before it its launch, because of its predecessor, Matiz. Lots of people were waiting for Spark to be launched. Unfortunately GM couldn’t tap this emotional gravity in an effective way.

2. GM overpriced the product. I really feel pity at companies who still don’t understand the price sensitiveness of the Indian Market. (In India, somebody can sell even a bullock cart, if it is priced properly)

3. Even though GM advertised Spark well, the initial market movement was slow, may be because of production constraints. (I saw at least five i10 in road on the same day Hyundai done the advertisment, but in case of Spark I cant even glance the car for the first two months, from the first advertisement). In a sense GM did a concept selling than the real product launch, which benefited the competitors to act upon.

4. Because of above reason the car became unpopular in many markets. Many people not even think "Spark" as an option.

5. The price reduction during Diwali happened to be a boomerang for GM. The intention was to boost up the sales, but people interpreted it as a weakness of the product. Many people booked the car, but the brand images went down.

6. In some cities, the GM network is not strong. (For the whole of Chennai, they only have one dealer, which is monopolistic and the customer will not be benefited.)

7. People are still not very comfortable with GM products, because of some uncertainty in pricing, especially in maintenence.

Xehaust · 8th February 2008, 10:49

What is it with big car companies nowadays???
I guess they think the economy is booming and can overcharge for everything.
Cases in point being GM & SKODA.
GM prices all its cars high and Skoda has is losing its image by the pricing of the Fabia.
Though a wonderful and delightful car ticking all the boxes, its screwing itself over by the pricing. Personally, i think that even their choice of engine options is very sad. I mean such puny engines from SKODA and priced so high!!!!

Now, a Fabia RS for 8-9 Lakhs with a Octavia 1.9TDi engine would be through the roof

And it would sell like hot cakes, even more so than when the Palio 1.6 Sport came out. Wat say fellow BHP-ians?

bkm · 9th February 2008, 19:21

Spark sale figure of January -2639 , quite impressive indeed.

jaibir · 10th February 2008, 10:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkm

Spark sale figure of January -2639 , quite impressive indeed.

I think these are largely deliveries against the Diwali offer - when they had offered a 50k discount and taken on 10k+ bookings

bkm · 10th February 2008, 12:00

Diwali booking or no , this is the highest ever sale of spark .

mithun · 14th February 2008, 15:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkm

Spark sale figure of January -2639 , quite impressive indeed.

Compare it with WR/i10/Santro !

5th February 2008, 08:58	#20
Ajaybiz BANNED Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,441 Thanked: 321 Times View My Garage	What about existing owners who even didnt got the 50K discount last year?Heard lots of things from them that they are wooried about Sparks future, their main concern is it may again repeat its own history.
	() Thanks

5th February 2008, 19:41	#24
Xehaust BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 846 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	Sad to see such competent cars go down this way due to bad policies in marketing and pricing. GM is holding itself back from being right up there in India. O well, its helping our very own Maruti so hehe
	() Thanks

8th February 2008, 02:18	#25
sunil8089 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 198 Thanked: 153 Times	Who said Spark failed in the market? Believe me, this is the only small car which is successful all the five continents. It is a success in India too. I think most of us believe that the low sales figures are because of low demand. But in reality it is a supply problem. I know people who booked Spark and are still waiting for the delivery. Currently GM has its production facility in Halol, Gujrath, where they manufacture everything from Spark to Optra. But now they are setting up a second plant at Telagon in Maharashtra. Once this plant is over, I hope most of these supply constraints will be over. Some observations about Spark in Indian market is: 1. Spark had a real hype before it its launch, because of its predecessor, Matiz. Lots of people were waiting for Spark to be launched. Unfortunately GM couldn’t tap this emotional gravity in an effective way. 2. GM overpriced the product. I really feel pity at companies who still don’t understand the price sensitiveness of the Indian Market. (In India, somebody can sell even a bullock cart, if it is priced properly) 3. Even though GM advertised Spark well, the initial market movement was slow, may be because of production constraints. (I saw at least five i10 in road on the same day Hyundai done the advertisment, but in case of Spark I cant even glance the car for the first two months, from the first advertisement). In a sense GM did a concept selling than the real product launch, which benefited the competitors to act upon. 4. Because of above reason the car became unpopular in many markets. Many people not even think "Spark" as an option. 5. The price reduction during Diwali happened to be a boomerang for GM. The intention was to boost up the sales, but people interpreted it as a weakness of the product. Many people booked the car, but the brand images went down. 6. In some cities, the GM network is not strong. (For the whole of Chennai, they only have one dealer, which is monopolistic and the customer will not be benefited.) 7. People are still not very comfortable with GM products, because of some uncertainty in pricing, especially in maintenence.
	() Thanks

8th February 2008, 10:49	#26
Xehaust BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 846 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	What is it with big car companies nowadays??? I guess they think the economy is booming and can overcharge for everything. Cases in point being GM & SKODA. GM prices all its cars high and Skoda has is losing its image by the pricing of the Fabia. Though a wonderful and delightful car ticking all the boxes, its screwing itself over by the pricing. Personally, i think that even their choice of engine options is very sad. I mean such puny engines from SKODA and priced so high!!!! Now, a Fabia RS for 8-9 Lakhs with a Octavia 1.9TDi engine would be through the roof And it would sell like hot cakes, even more so than when the Palio 1.6 Sport came out. Wat say fellow BHP-ians?
	() Thanks

9th February 2008, 19:21	#27
bkm BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 95 Thanked: 0 Times	Spark sale figure of January -2639 , quite impressive indeed.
	() Thanks

10th February 2008, 12:00	#29
bkm BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 95 Thanked: 0 Times	Diwali booking or no , this is the highest ever sale of spark .
	() Thanks