[aaggoswami]

Yes, I agree it very basic, but then basic in India as a Sedan( a sedan in India is seen as a high social status) is a perfect recepie for disaster.

After spending Rs. 6 Lakh no buyer in INdia would like to have a three box long car that is very basic to feel and use.
The diesel engine is good for just a couple of people. Load the car fully and then hit the highway. Its not powerful enough. I felt that even the Indigo is better than the Logan as far as performance is concerned.

And the other reason is that Ford Fiesta is a huge challange. It does cost more, but is a better package and has almost as good fuel effeciency and with that improtant feel.

[GeekSrik]

the moment you keep window controls under your foot at the rear, i knew this car wasnt heading anywhere!

[prashanthyr]

How are the sales of Indigo (the logan's natural competitor) doing ? I guess they may not have fallen very drastically. So, Tata wins afterall?

[pugram]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

Pugram is quite happy with his steed, recently he toured southern part of tamilnadu covering 720kms with just 33l of diesel, that works out to a whopping 22kmpl. tifosi.

Yes.. i am happy with my car. Good mileage. Good space and a comfortable car to be in.

I do agree that Mahindra might have lost the game in pricing this high. But for Maruti none of the others have registered increasing sales figures in Nov / Dec 07(Reference: Economic Times).

I am just wondering what other Diesel car one has as an option, this side of say 6 ~ 6.50 lacs with the above space and mileage options.

Indigo - All frills, good boot space, but Noisy engine
Logan - No frills but a great engine and good boot space.
Swift - Great engine, but absolutely no space(primary for me)

And hence my choice of Logan

[ashutoshb]

After selling 2,786 units in its launch month, the monthly sales figures were down to an average of 1,561 units in November.

The sales of the launch month are generally higher. After a few months the sales dip and generally maintain a steady figure.

Indian auto sales typically slow in December because cars that are bought in that month get tagged with the vintage of that year and could potentially see a dip in resale value in future.

Agreed

Some analysts say that Logan is perceived as an over-priced product for its segment in India.

Agreed. The 1.6 & the 1.5 D are overpriced. But then, ask Ford to sell the Ikon at two lakhs cheaper or ask Tata to sell Indigo for two lakhs less and your wish will be fulfilled.

.. and has aggressive competitors such as the Maruti Swift, which was launched in May 2005 by India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, and has sold 172,000 units so far. Mahindra Renault has sold 16,300 Logans since its May launch.

Only an idiot can compare the sales of the Logan & the Swift. Can someone please tell us the monthly sales figures of the esteem, ikon, indigo for the same time period.

Some of Logan’s vendors, meanwhile, are expressing concern over falling sales of the car. Many of them have made investments in upgrading their production facilities to meet Renault’s quality guidelines

Ya, instead of cribbing over sales, the vendors should concentrate on the quality they are offering Mahindra.



Now this article talks about how the Logan's sales are dipping at an alarming rate (by comparing the rate b/w the first month and the sixth/seventh month . Give me the sales figure of oct, nov and dec, then we can come to some conclusion).

The reasons for the dip are more or less correct (year end.. which happens to every car, basic interiors & overpriced.. totally agree on these two points.. a little correction on both the points is necessary).

Spark, even being a hatchback, has a monthly sales of 1400-1500 per month (source: Chevrolet Spark fails to ignite GM's fortunes) and no one talks about it. No one speculates about its death.

The Indigo family also reported 29.5 per cent decline in sales to 2,014 units (only 500 more than the Logan) compared to November 2006. (source: Tata Motors November sales down 4%, passenger vehicle by 16%- Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times) , so does that mean we can start a new thread?, speculating the end of the Indigo?

Why targetting Logan? One article, and here goes Logan bashing all over again.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

From my experience, trade pundits are not to be taken so seriously.

Agreed, but you can't argue with sales figures.

Originally Posted by vcash

If Renault wants to pump up sales, they should explore the taxi market and price it accordingly.

Yup, but they were actively discouraging the same at launch and after that I guess their pricing strategy drove away the operator's anyway.

Originally Posted by condor

The best idea to promote Renault-M&M sales yet. The problem with the Logan is that the price isn't basic, in line with the car itself.

Yup, if you were getting a basic version at a basic on-road price, it would sell but looking at the car from a VFM point of view it doesn't bode well.

[vasudeva]

Logan was steady at 2200-2400 during Aug-Oct, but dipped to 1560 in Nov. Actual figures:
8/07: 2252; 9/07 2184 10/07 2214; 11/07 1560

Worryingly for M&M, it has so far produced 16786 Logan till 11/07 but sold 16267. In 11/07, it produced only 1035 compared with 2701 in 10/07, 2073 in 9/07, and 2770 in 8/07. Clearly they were hoping for some Diwali push which did not happen, explaining the sharp decline in 11/07 production.

[amit]

The problem is world (Europe) over, Logan is a basic cheap car. Renault tried to repeat that formula in India thinking that what works in expensive Europe would work in India too. Unfortunately, they failed to see that India already has a lot of cheap sedans that aren't so basic in features. The boxy 80's looks added 'fuel to the fire'. What surprised me is that Mahindra failed to see this too. They used innovative cost cutting measures (for Europeans) like same left and right mirrors, same meters for tacho and speedo etc but we in India have cars that are cheaper without resorting to such drastic cost cutting measures.

Such cost cutting idea's are innovative for Europeans but Indians probably thought of such ideas as desperate.

[benbsb29]

My friend who is now in his thirties, and also doing quite well careerwise almost decided on the Logan as an upgrade from his Zen. That Maruti offerred him a good deal later is another story.

Goes to show that for the common man unconcerned about looks but requires space, the Logan does fit the bill.

As for dipping sales figures, guess its the year-end effect coming to forte.

[pugram]

Originally Posted by amit

They used innovative cost cutting measures (for Europeans) like same left and right mirrors, same meters for tacho and speedo etc but we in India have cars that are cheaper without resorting to such drastic cost cutting measures.

Such cost cutting idea's are innovative for Europeans but Indians probably thought of such ideas as desperate.

There is no doubt that Mahindra got over ambitious with the Logan project.

Adding fuel to fire, there is absolutely no marketing for the Logan. Has anybody noticed this?. Even TATA is advertising for FIAT now a days for JV sake. But Mahindra is not doing anything to woo buyers. But down south here, it is selling like hot cakes (Have one more buyer at office going for a 1.4 petrol- that makes 4 in office).

Add the Wipers meant for Left Hand Drive vehicles to the list.. a pain really

[snaronikar]

This is the year end and there is bound to be slump in sales of all the compaines except a couple. Hence nothing to worry about. Yes, I agree with many people here that the car looks basic. M&M needs to something about it asap or tey will lose out to competitors as 2008 will have some new launches will give M&M run for their money.

[da_lowrider]

The Indigo family also reported 29.5 per cent decline in sales to 2,014 units (only 500 more than the Logan) compared to November 2006. (source: Tata Motors November sales down 4%, passenger vehicle by 16%- Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times) , so does that mean we can start a new thread?, speculating the end of the Indigo?

But you forget that the Indigo has been around for eons now, with the new line of Tata cars expected be around the corner the new model will ideally be the one that competes with Logan and Tata being Tata might further drop the prices of the Indigo and continue with it or they might just introduce the notchback. The Logan is less than a year old which makes this discussion interesting, and it is indeniably over-priced.

[finneyp]

Logan was positioned in the Entry-level (Basic) Sedan segment, and if it has sold more than Ikon, Esteem and gave Indigo a run for its money, it can be called a success!
Low sales in Nov & Dec could be attributed to the year-end factor & almost all car brands are affected by the same.

Originally Posted by pugram

Add the Wipers meant for Left Hand Drive vehicles to the list.. a pain really

This feature was there in Corsa too, not sure if rectified in Aveo.
Not a pain once you get used to it.

[diabloo]

Left hand is required for changing gears - not to worry about turning the signal. All GM, Ford cars still have this feature.

Originally Posted by finneyp

This feature was there in Corsa too, not sure if rectified in Aveo.

Not a pain once you get used to it.

[vasudeva]

All Ford, GM cars have this feature since they do cost cutting and just install the original left side steering to the right.