[Amartya]

Originally Posted by gaddiwale

r
I feel sorry about everybody's favourite Fiat - in the month of Feb sold only 2 Palio, GP is selling only in the range of 1200 - 1400 units/month, Linea figures coming down, sold 3 Fiat 500. Perfect example of how a good product gets ruined because of bad marketing policies. May be Fiat is a preferred brand here in the forum but people's choice is different.
Thanks Karpusv for the data.

No need for you to feel sorry at all, it's quite clear from most of your post. Anyway, it'll be great if you can explain the "bad marketing policies" that you tout. I see that a company that was down in the dumps a year and a half back, is trying to make a comeback with some great products.

First of all their Indian division didn't have enough money to go on an advertising blitzkrieg and secondly they have focussed on delivering high value products while trying to get the A.S.S. straightened out. As far as people's choice is concerned, of course it's different from the data you see on teambhp, not everyone is well informed or an automobile enthusiast.

Close to 2500 numbers per month is not such a bad number, if they continue to be nimble (by announcing variants and products) they'll soon be a force to reckon with.

[ramzsys]

So if FIAT is the enthusiasts brand, then it might be better for them to sell cars in the true blue premium products.

the 1.3 VGT or T-jet in the punto.
1.6/1.9 VGT in Linea(before it comes in Sx4 !!!)

with loaded equipments, better interiors.

Premium customers have to be treated well, hence FIAT has to open a few service centers at least in the Metros.

Enthusiasts are never VFM customers, hence more profits from the current under 1000 Lineas and 1200 Puntos. Thats the way forward i suppose. And need not worry about pricing neck-to-neck with tata motors.

Just my two paisas..

[Sawyer]

GMI success with the Beat is the big news to me. I had not thought it will move in these volumes, and I had also thought that it will cannibalize Spark sales. Clearly this has not happened. GMI is the first company in recent times to offer a viable option to Maruti and Hyundai at the lower price points with a brilliant service package that cannot get consumed in a year for 95% of users, and for the large majority, combined with the three year warranty, does end up offering zero spending on everything other than fuel and insurance. This, based on my experience with the Spark so far.
GMI has an opportunity to bundle in insurance as well, and by harvesting the benefits of volume, give an even better deal to their customers. All one should need to do is fuel the car!
When the Matiz was launched, it was a brilliant car that was let down by poor pricing and then the Daewoo collapse. Its good to see it finally come good in congested Indian cities where it offers a very good combination of packaging, looks, good build and compact footprint. With a driving and ride experience that is superior to its competition - the ride is the best of the lot all the way up to the i 10.
When the Spark is launched with the 800 cc version at Alto matching pricing, that should be another feather in the GMI cap.
One can only hope that GMI will keep up the current good service standards as volumes go through the roof.

[arishi1]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

So if FIAT is the enthusiasts brand, then it might be better for them to sell cars in the true blue premium products.

the 1.3 VGT or T-jet in the punto.
1.6/1.9 VGT in Linea(before it comes in Sx4 !!!)

with loaded equipments, better interiors.

Premium customers have to be treated well, hence FIAT has to open a few service centers at least in the Metros.

Enthusiasts are never VFM customers, hence more profits from the current under 1000 Lineas and 1200 Puntos. Thats the way forward i suppose. And need not worry about pricing neck-to-neck with tata motors.

Just my two paisas..

+1 to that and I suppose the way forward for FIAT should be to launch free service system on the lines of what GM has done with Spark to get the regular VFM customers some trust in the brand. FIAT is famous in India for bad A.S.S. and non availability of parts. The typical answer that you get from a FIAT service advisor mostly is sir the spares are not in stock, we have ordered them, will give you a call when they arrive, which in personal experience happens a month or so later only. There are lot of talks that FIAT is working on it and slowly we should see the A.S.S. improvements but again to the common person on road the question is if I invest 5 to 10K on a car will I get the peace of mind for servicing this. I think GM answered it by giving the free service system in Spark and making a good comeback now with much better cars like Beat and Cruze. I think FIAT need to do the same with GP and/or Linea before going for new models.

[karpusv]

Originally Posted by gaddiwale

....I would like to have some sales data for Ritz petrol and diesel models. ...

Ritz
Engine..........Jan'10..........Feb'10
Petrol............2775...........2,476
Diesel............3400...........3,030

[PAVAN KADAM]

Found this link on Rediff.

Swift comes 4th and our very own Desi TATA INDICA is 3 largest selling car


The top 6 best-selling cars in India : Rediff.com Business

[Digitonsam]

Originally Posted by karpusv

Ritz
Engine..........Jan'10..........Feb'10
Petrol............2775...........2,476
Diesel............3400...........3,030

this contradicts most statements made here by t-bhp members that ritz D is a sales dud. Now the discount offered on ritz P and D are same 15k.

[gaddiwale]

Originally Posted by karpusv

Ritz
Engine..........Jan'10..........Feb'10
Petrol............2775...........2,476
Diesel............3400...........3,030

Thanks a lot Karpusv.

This data says everything - in both the months total sales of Ritz comprises of 55% of Diesel and 45% Petrol. Only diesel Ritz is selling almost equal volume of Spark or A*. So the popular notion in the forum that Ritz diesel is not doing well is no longer tenable in the present situation. But we have to see the figures after the launch of Figo, Polo and Beat diesel.

Actually our forum is mainly comprises of auto enthusiasts thus, it's a statistically biased population - if majority of persons here think model A is doing well - that doen't gives you the picture of the whole country.

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by karpusv

Ritz
Engine..........Jan'10..........Feb'10
Petrol............2775...........2,476
Diesel............3400...........3,030

Oh that is against the popular belief that Ritz petrol is close to 70% of total sales. I guess the discounts on Diesel have swung the sales the other way. Any idea on the split between Indigo CS & Manza and also beween Indica and Vista?

[longhorn]

The Ritz is doing excellent numbers and I only see them rising in the future. People will get used to only sore point of the Ritz( ugly rear end) and after that there's no stopping the Ritz. If only they could drop Ritz prices so as to have a difference of 30k spec to spec vis a vis the Swift, we could even see the Ritz overtaking Swift sales. The Figo could become a spoil sport here to an extent in the cities, but i don't foresee much of an impact from the Polo.

[karpusv]

Tata, apparently does not submit the sales figures of the Indica,Vista / Indigo,CS,Manza separately.
So I'll be unable to help much. :(
Any T-BHP'ian got Tata contacts?

[WindRide]

I never understood why Fiat does not want to go alone in India.
IMO, they will taste better success going solo.

Renault is doing the same now.. better later than never eh?

[ACM]

Originally Posted by gaddiwale

@ romeomidhun - No doubt Spark is a good car, become even more popular because of it's attractive pricing and 3 years free service offer. Does Chevy offer really offer free servicing for 3 years - I guess NO. They will give you six coupons, every time you go to service station you have to hand over one - so if you finish six coupons in one years time you are gone for a toss. Spark numbers are declining (4231 - Oct'09; 3477 - Jan'10; 3378 - Feb'10). I guess Chevy has it's own market/customer segment and with the launch of Beat Spark is loosing the base. Yes, Beat is now at the peak stage, we have to wait for few more months to see the saturation point. Like the case with i20 - its sales hovers between 4000-5000 units/month for last 5 months.

Agree with most of your points except this one as if a guy uses up his 6 service coupons in a year then the person is porbably using the vehicle for commercial purpose.

The 3 year service specifies the applicable kms. of course one can choose to get a paid service done every 1000 kms or every month, but that is the individuals choise the car does not require it. I do belive that the Spark offer is attractive and appropriate. The numbers going down marginally is expected with the arrival of Beat and the anticipation of this from the previous months, yet in Feb the numbes are very close to jan.

[CoolFire]

GM seems the one company to have got it right with Beat and Cruze. The diesel variant for Beat and 800cc variant for Spark will definitely take it further.

Figo may do it for Ford too. Eagerly awaiting numbers next few months.

Swift + Dzire sales is doing wonders for Maruti numbers. Only the older B segment (Wagon R + Estilo) appears to be lagging in market share. People waiting for new Wagon R?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by gaddiwale

Actually our forum is mainly comprises of auto enthusiasts thus, it's a statistically biased population - if majority of persons here think model A is doing well - that doen't gives you the picture of the whole country.

Please spend some time going through previous sales reports before making such sweeping statements. They have ALL been based on HARD numbers. And industry stats do include sales at the national level.

WRT the Ritz, the general opinion was : Why it didn't become a best seller as the Swift did. Similar cars, yet the Ritz is better in many ways.