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Old 8th August 2008, 11:27   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pradeepdayanand View Post
why fiat palio is priced comparatively on the lower side compared to other cars in its range. for eg) a 2003 palio is priced around 1.5 L , and santro is priced around 1.8L. Both are having its own advantages and disadvantages.

Please pass in your views and thoughts?
There are more than one reason for this:

1)
The car is not selling very well, so the price is low.

2)
Fiat A.S & S. is not having a good image and is also not very good or efficient. This drastically reduces the price.

3)
Dealer network. In case of Hyundai and Maruti they have realively very wide spread dealer network and this helps.

4)
Old powertrain and low FE.
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:32   #32
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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
The Palio is still the worst selling hatchback in india
Offtopic : How many UVA's are chevrolet able to sell these days?
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:36   #33
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Originally Posted by phamilyman View Post
As for the older one, simple issues like low mileage of 1.2 (urban legend/fact i donno), service backup, spares availability and the fiat ghosts have made it underpriced. Its not a bad buy by anyone's standard. of course, Architect has patiently dissected it. I would say your post for a newbie is dangerous - not until he reads it with mature commentary/rationale like architect's!
By no stretch of imagination am I a Fiat baiter. In fact, in 2003, my heart was for replacing my old Zen with a Palio. In 1999, my heart was for Uno but bought a Zen (did not even consider the horrible looking Santro at that time). In the end, I got a similar product, Corsa. Ask owners of both cars, and most owners would say positives, ride comfort, comfort, stability, blah blah. These cars are good if you keep it for long, so as to negate the pathetic resales. However, I have known from many people about the difficulty in selling, and the price received on selling duds such as Palio and Corsa (my old car). The A.S.S of at least the Corsa lives up to the abbreviation.

I have had one `European' car, which is fully paid for, but for me, the aggravation and hassles of owning a European car do not justify some `intangibles' claimed by their makers and consumers.
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:39   #34
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Originally Posted by vasudeva View Post
Why would it be the case that `Palio owners don't easily sell their cars'. Could it be:
1 emotional reasons (fantastic car)
2. difficult to sell
3. collector's item and will appreciate with usage
4. the money received may not even a new bike in exchange for a old `AC 4 wheeler'.
5. there is no better alternative on either side of 20 lakhs.
Vasudeva, I like your crisp analyses on the Car Sales thread so perhaps I was expecting better from you.

Did you really have to add on reasons 3 to 5? Kinda destroyed the credibility of the entire post - for me at least.
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:41   #35
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Originally Posted by finneyp View Post
If Fiat makes 600 MJDs and selling all 600 MJDs, I will definitly call it a Market success!
FinneyP, I appreciate your love for all things Fiat, but lets not make such inherently limited statements. Firstly, there is an error in your calculation whereby you are attributing all 600 cars to the MJD. It does build the 1.1 and the 1.6, which account for about 25% of all Palios sold. Second, I can assure you that Fiat would love to build 5,000 Palios which they can very well do. But Fiat simply don't have enough takers. What they are doing is, matching the dismal demand with an equally dismal supply. So, its not a supply constraint that is limiting the numbers to 600. Its a component of demand.

Quote:
Actually, the resale value of Palio has gone up in the last 2 years!
But, still not in the league of Maruti, Honda.
I am sure it has. But the resale is still extremely poor.

Quote:
May be, the Worst selling, but for me, it is the Best Hatchback in the country!
Sure thing. No one is asking for justifications or even discussing whether its the best / worst. We are talking about market success here, not how good the car is.
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:41   #36
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Originally Posted by khan_sultan View Post
Won't agree with this blanket statement. There are ample folks buying a Palio, both new and used and even the upcoming planned models.
Of course there are around 550 people buying a Palio every month, including around 350 diesel. So there are many people. But consider the fact this is 550 out of the segment (compact) market of 68000 cars in June 2008, and then the ample people becomes only 0.8%!

Quote:
Originally Posted by finneyp View Post
Actually, the resale value of Palio has gone up in the last 2 years! May be, the Worst selling, but for me, it is the Best Hatchback in the country! And thatz what matters to me end of the day!
I can say the same thing for Corsa. Owning a product that is a confirmed flop requires some commitment and courage. I can claim that it rides better than City, is more solid than Esteem, and perhaps more FE than Ikon/Fiesta.

Saying positive things is also justified. It has an added benefit: persuading people about its virtues and reduce fear about buying a used Palio/Corsa. I am ready to sell my used Corsa!!

Last edited by Technocrat : 8th August 2008 at 12:32.
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:48   #37
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We have discussed issues with Fiat ample amount of times. I suggest to close this thread before it becoming a war.

-BSR
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:51   #38
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Originally Posted by vasudeva View Post
But consider the fact this is 550 out of the segment (compact) market of 68000 cars in June 2008, and then the ample people becomes only 0.8%!
Exactly! Market share is king and the Palio has less than 1% of the hatch segment.

Waitaminnut! Are we trying to debate whether the Palio is a success or a failure? Gimme a break guys! The Palio is a ROYAL flop and its about time you guys wake up and smell the coffee. Argue on the product's superiority in build, space etc. etc. But telling anyone that the Palio is a success is really insulting the intelligence of this forum.

Coming back to the opening post, the reason that the Palio enjoys poorer resale is that it is a market flop. Again, no one wants it new thus, no one wants it used either.
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:54   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
... No one wants the Palio new, no one wants it used either....
Quote:
Originally Posted by vasudeva View Post
Of course there are around 550 people buying a Palio every month, including around 350 diesel. So there are many people. But consider the fact this is 550 out of the segment (compact) market of 68000 cars in June 2008, and then the ample people becomes only 0.8%!

Vasu,

IMHO, 0.8% is "ample" considering that GTO mentioned 'No One'.



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Old 8th August 2008, 11:56   #40
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Verdict: Palio is declared Flop on this forum! Good going!

We can close this thread & get back to work!
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Old 8th August 2008, 11:56   #41
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Sales wise its indeed a flop car in India (Except for first year). No doubt about it. I guess the thread starter has got enough information on why Palio sales lesser than other hatches. The failure is more because of the company rather than the product. I am sure there are people who would have bought it if it was Maruti Palio rather than FIAT Palio.

Its time for this thread to be closed before it becomes a war field for the FIAT and Anti FIAT ppl.
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Old 8th August 2008, 12:01   #42
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Thanks guyz

Got valid feed back from you guys. Thanks !!!!

Mods : Please close this thread.

regards,
Pradeep
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Old 8th August 2008, 12:04   #43
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So - what is the point of this thread ? What are we trying to deduce ?

a) Is it that poor resale value means "bad product"? Well - lets look at the Brazilian market where the sales are very high? Lets look at what current users have to say ? Lets look at what auto-mags have to say. None indicate it is a bad product. It could be an unsuccessful product but definitely not bad. What about Scoda Fabia ?

b) Does poor resale value mean improper positioning of the vehicle ? Could be.

c) Does poor resale value mean the product is ahead of its time - Is there a market developed for performance cars in India yet or is it another 10 years away when our roads allow for better motoring ?

d) Does poor resale reflect - company management does not have the pulse of the market ?

e) Who is the typical used car buyer? Does a product like Palio or Getz appeal to him her ? Is a typical user car buyer a buyer who looks "only" at FE ?
Again Palio and Scoda Fabia come to mind. Could be that the market is not fully developed yet. Very few first time car buyers in India will go for a product with high running costs unlike some developed markets where a Mini Cooper will sell like hot cakes even with first time car buyers. Because the cost of a car in proportion to their annual income is still very low. In India to buy a car about 5L where your annual salary comes to that figure is quite daunting to many.

So I see no point in this thread. It seems to me that a person will be satisfied only if he sees a zillion other guys doing the same thing as he to validate his choice. Each one is different and what is good for the gander may not be good for the goose.
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Old 8th August 2008, 12:05   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by khan_sultan View Post
Vasu,

IMHO, 0.8% is "ample" considering that GTO mentioned 'No One'.



That was obviously made in *relative* terms. I don't see the difficulty in apprehending the statement. 0.8% market share in simpler terms means that, less than 1 out of 100 potential customers put their money down on the Palio. Further, if we equate the Palio's market share to the total size of the Indian car market (i.e. not limited to the compact segment), the Palio's market share will probably be closer to 0 than it is to 1. You will agree that almost none of the new car buyers buy the Palio.

I have said this before and say it again; contrary to what my previous statements may have you infer, I do love the Palio, especially in that delicious 1.6 form. Search my previous comments for attestation. However, I don't stop from calling a spade a spade. And its blind posts stating "the Palio is a success" that really tick me off. C'mon, accept the facts and we will too. Lets keep bias away from Team-BHP.

Last edited by GTO : 8th August 2008 at 12:14.
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Old 8th August 2008, 12:10   #45
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There may be a thousand arguments on either side whether the Palio is a good product or not. That is a good discussion.

But how can there be *any* argument that the Palio is not a sales success? How can one argue with numbers? The argument that FIAT is selling 100% of their production means that the car is a success is not a valid argument, because the production has been *fitted* to the demand, which is very low.
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