September 2010 - Indian Car Sales Figures

[coldice4u]

Its really high time that Fiat and Tata start looking serioulsy into QC issues.

Linea 700 odd units.
ANHC 6000 units.

i20 7000 odd units.
GP 900 units.
Polo 3000 units.
Micra 1000 units.

Safari 1500 odd units.
Scorpio 4000 units

Tata has been a most succeessful manufacturer but i wonder how strong is the brand loyalty among those who have actually purchased cars from them. In many cases the only reason for the purchase of a TATA car has been the unavailability of options at a similar price point. Somehow a 10 yrold platform such as the Safari has still not matured and people still think twice before purchasing one. Shoddy service at the A.s.s. definitely does not help.

Fiat does not seem to have QC issues but people complaining about poor A.s.s is definitely a worry. They may launch as many variants as they like but the customwer will always have options. And no one likes to be treated shabbily. The upcoming T-jet will hardly do any wonders just like the 90bhp GP hasnt made any effect. With the Linea and the GP, the Indian customers definitely gave Fiat a 2nd chance as indiaceted by the good numbers they pulled in after their launch. But when you get a 2nd chance, you need to take it. Regarding the 500, how can you justify a 16 lakh price tag for a car that has an engine that also powers the Swift?

[vvvinod]

Originally Posted by paharino1

City is the Upper Middle Classes Maruti !! From my interaction with lots of friends in the Corporate Sector - 30-40 age bracket earning 10 lacs + per annum just think of 1 car when they upgrade from their hatches to a 3 box sedan - the undisputed king -City

I think that's where Honda is getting the numbers from

This is exactly what i see the trend in my office too. Most of them upgraded from Hatch to City, even i did the same.

[GloryManUnited]

Originally Posted by Ram_NP

Thanks GTO for sharing the numbers. Honda City's growth is impressive (almost 2000 units more than last month) despite debut of Vento. Discounts and free insurance have shown results for ANHC.

It will be intresting to see how Vento fares in coming two festive months.

I think it not just the pricing but the fact that the Indian market is maturing. Those driving small and mid-size hatches since the last 5 years or so and starting to upgrade to the next segment. We should see more and more of this trend in the near future.d

[Sush]

I am happy to see the Logan numbers rising. Better sales numbers would mean better resale value for the existing customers :-)
Could price reduction alone be the reason or is it that now people have started believing that it's actually a VFM low maintenance car?

[The Hurricane]

The Chevrolet Cruze has done very well when compared to the Skoda Laura & Toyota Corolla Altis considering the fact that it has only 3 variants with one diesel engine unlike the Laura and the Altis which are both available in Petrol and Diesel. Once the CHevrolet Cruze 1.4 Turbo charged petrol engine comes we could see some really competition between the west and the east.
The Honda City has just shown why it is the best car in the segment with astonishing sales figures of 6K units plus bringing it in comparison with the Ford Figo.
I really feel sad for FIAT which has wonderfull cars but sadly their marketing and the step motherly attitude of Tata is a reason to worry.

[karanraheja]

- Chevy Cruze , You Beauty ! Take a Bow ! Fantastic Sales, Petrol Cruze should help Cruze Sales settle around 1000 units.

- Nice to see Laura sales picking up. Honda Civic needs an upgrade + Diesel BADLY!

- It would be interesting to see how Fabia facelift sales fare in short term, presently Polo is selling almost 10 times of Fabia. I hope facelift Fabia atleast surpasses sales of Jazz.

- Awesome performance by City ! This seems to be the only Honda which is being doing well. Honda need to re position their cars + Diesel.

- Tata Indica is getting belted by Figo & Co., a facelift Vista should be on the cards.

- Swift & i20 as usual are setting sales charts on fire. Swift near 12 k Units , MSIL would'nt mind delaying launch of New Swift by few months.

[ajai_dev]

Originally Posted by SilkDrive

- Fiat does not have many models, outside, that it can offer at the budget that Indian market demands

- The sale of the recent offerings (punto and linea) is so low compared to competition.

- Fiat is doing very well here as an engine supplier and can utilize its infrastructure and plant setups to manufacture only engines for other brands (domestic and export)

- Fiat does not have any dedicated dealerships/workshops so investment in this region is not high.So does it make Fiat cars a safe buy now?

Fiat is the owner of several other brands also other than Fiat, they have a total of 7 brands. Out of these Alfa Romeo and Lancia offer Supermini and Small family cars such as Mito, Giulietta (940),Ypsilon and Delta. Yes some of the models are more expensive but given the broad range of prices in India these can also fit in but have to be striped of features first for a realistic price point.

Fiat also have cars like Fiat Doblò "Yeti type" and Fiat Bravo "i30 type" in their stable which can fit well enough in Indian roads. Fiat is quite safe to buy the GP and the Linea together make 1600 units per month which is not bad when one considers how many Palio/Siena's it used to sell per month.

If you look at the Mitsubishi's figures one would say that it will close down in a month's

Originally Posted by coldice4u

Its really high time that Fiat and Tata start looking serioulsy into QC issues.

Linea 700 odd units.
ANHC 6000 units.

i20 7000 odd units.
GP 900 units.
Polo 3000 units.
Micra 1000 units.

Safari 1500 odd units.
Scorpio 4000 units

Fiat has stepped up customer service and A.S.S performance a lot as compared to before but sadly its a slow transformation process. My friend has done close to 40k on his GP and one of the shock absorbers was damaged due to some off road action the A.S.S changed it without a problem. I have also noticed that new GP's have better plastics than my friends old GP they feel slightly better.

The 500 is a import it has 100% duty and on top of that the edition it self is more expensive than say a GP abroad since its a iconic car. If or when Mini Copper comes to India it will also sport a price tag similar or more to the 500.

The New Beetle is already 4-5Lac more expensive if i recall correctly.

[nishant_242]

Fiat also have a controlling stake in Chrysler, and they should also look at bringing those models to India. Also Fiat & Tata have been trying to improve the plastic quality and fit & finish of their interiors. Other auto websites that have tested the Linea TJet have already spoken about it.
Expect Fiat & Tata to bounce back shortly.

[blackasta]

I saw quite a few outlanders in the last month - the blue one looks cool.
IMO the outlander sells partially for its looks too.

What puzzles me is that Accent is selling 1500+ units while the verna sells 1800+ units. What drives customers to Accent? fleet order?

[lonecrusader]

Thanks GTO for the quick update.

1. The hatchback market is crowding up, but the leaders remain leaders with the only fight coming in from Ford Figo.
2. The i20 has been clocking similar numbers for a few months now and hence not a surprise.
3. Fiat is not committed enough for a market like India and it shows in their sales numbers.
4. Lastly, City has ensured that it does not lose ground to the vento. 6K+, wow!

"Honda City is Upper Middles Classes Maruti". This is absolutely right, because it provides many of the traits of the Maruti in c/c+ segment. If the competition needs to dislodge the leader from its perch, then they need to go over and above the obvious and give "everything" at a VFM price.

For e.g. If the vento came with more equipment list, attractive warranty offers and a more spirited petrol engine, maybe they could have taken a serious shot at the city. But vento petrol is just par for the course, and not compelling enough to move people away from the segment leader.

Looking forward to the T-jet from Fiat, but then, perceptions play a huge role in our market and I suspect Fiat has lost the plot a long time back.

-lc

[carlosTHEjackal]

• Fiat Linea sales are low also because many people are holding their bet to buy Tjet. These less than regular numbers for Linea is due to the new car being launched in Oct 2010.
  Same case of dip in numbers happened to NHC in Sept oct 2008 when ANHC was about to be launched. Hence Fiat will not be worried about this month's number.

• Another point which we can deduce is that Suzuki has shifted its strategy. Their sales team recon that more waiting period will affect their sales. Hence bu producing more cars and reducing the waiting period, they may be retaining customers. This may be one of the reason why there is a sudden spurt in sales numbers of Suzuki. They don't want customers to leave them in the crucial festival season.

• The direct hit of number from Vento will not be City, it will be SX4, Verna, Optra and lastly City. Please note that Verna's number in % terms has come down more than linea. It will take at-least 6 to 8 Months for vento to dent City sales. Vento has the potential to perform same way as Tata Manza, as manza slowly captured No.1 Spot from Dzire. So expecting ground breaking number from Vento form start will not be fair.

I am astonished to see CR-V doing 88 numbers. Those people need to read news papers or auto magazine regularly. 2 new models coming to India in 2 to 4 Months, namely Santa-Fe and X1, they still prefer CR-V; Only thing i can deduce is that they have lot of money to spend.

[SAS]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

Figo good numbers constantly beating Ritz. It shows Indians seek value more than styling / modern design.

True. I feel people like the functionality of the figo in addition to it's value. In addition to value, it's got better interior space and 3 people can sit very comfortably in the figo unlike ritz which is not as generous in rear seat width.

[GTO]

*Update* Added Mercedes to the opening post.

The E-Class outsells the C-Class. What a market we find ourselves in!

[sidindica]

So, Its a battle as usual between maruti VS Hyundai in the small car segment and toyota VS Honda in the premium (irrespective of vehicle shape) segment.
Add VW in a few months once production stabilizes and (hopefully) dealer issues are sorted out.
Fiat ki to naiya hi doob gayi, sales are going down, and down and down....perhaps time to prun down the slow selling variants or time for a talaak of the Tata-Fiat nikaah?

[kadanaJ]

Lower C-Class sales wrt E-Class must be due to stiff competition from the Skoda Superb, Accord etc.
Most people who buy cars in these segment hire chauffeurs, so I guess the rear seat space and comfort must be more important than the brand name.
After sitting in a friends 3 series, I could've sworn my Civic had more interior room.
Atleast the E-Class doesn't face that sort of competition besides the other 2 germans.