• The M800 is effectively and truly set for retirement. Unless Maruti wants to slash its prices and take the Nano head on. 2400 cars / month is the lowest ever for the cheapest hatch of India. Surprising for a month with accounting implications like March, though unsurprising when you consider the Nano’s launch timing. The 800 can be sold at a massive discount on the current price, and still make Maruti a tidy profit. Expect corrections on a new base variant.
• Why is Fiat even bothering with the Palio? It’s got to be losing money on everyone of those 170 cars sold, but more than the monetary loss, the Palio is milking the Fiat brand of all its equity. CEASE production and focus on the Linea (+ future products) with IMMEDIATE effect!
• At a 32% increase over last March, Maruti continues to dominate the 3 – 5 lakh hatchback segment. And with good reason. Strangely, Hyundai registered a 13% dip in Y-O-Y sales. Though still no.2 in the compact segment by a mile (front and back), disappointing when you consider the awesome urban cars that the Santro & the i10 are. The Spark must be making GM a lot of money at 3000 cars a month, after all, it is a decade old design (still cheeky and competent though).
• The Fabia has crashed 20% in the Y-O-Y stakes and at 500 odd cars, is pretty much one of the worst selling hatches in India. Bad choice of engines, low FE, big price tag and substandard after-sales are deterrents to the discerning Indian hatchback customer.
• Nearly 14,000 cars sold in March is a respectable number for Tata, yet their Y-O-Y growth is only 4.9% despite a fantastic new product in the Vista. Me thinks Tata taking the safe design / branding route with the Vista has limited its market potential.
• The value-priced Ikon D must play a role in helping Ford maintain a C-segment volume of 2,700 cars a month. @ Vasudeva, can we have more information on the split between the Ikon & the Fiesta please?
• Start preparing obituary notes for the Aveo. Not too many will miss the lacklustre sedan either. Ditto for the Logan, the biggest loser in this segment with a whopping 70% Y-O-Y decline. Always told you, M&M – Renault, you went overboard with the price. Premium EMI for a cost-cut cheap sedan? You had got to be kidding us.
• The new City is helping Honda stay around the 6,000 monthly mark, but only just. Impressive when you consider that the money supplies have only just loosened up, but I doubt the new City will ever match the long-term success of the previous gen. Lets wait and watch. Still, a deserving segment leader due to its all rounded nature.
• The Civic resurges to its best ever performance in 9 months, yet down by a massive 65% Y-O-Y. Even the Altis disappoints (considering its a newer design and far more practical).
• The Octavia & Laura are currently languishing at 50% of their sales in March 2008. The Civic and Altis alone (each), sell more than the Octy + Laura combined! You can tell that buyers have a lot more on their mind than just a diesel advantage.
• The Sonata (Transform) has its best ever month in nearly 2 years, lets see how long the run last (70 Sonatas sold). Its high time that the Camry is built locally (class flunker at 40 cars).
• The BMW 3 series celebrates its best ever month in March 2009 with a 116 cars moved off showroom floors. The C Class, IMO the 30 lakh class leader, has beaten the 3 hollow with 173 cars sold in March!
• Man, the 5 series is on a truly phenomenal run. At 309 cars old, its within a hairs breadth of the half-price Accord (326 cars) and nearly DOUBLE that of the E-Class (159 cars), 8 lakh discounts on the E280 notwithstanding. The Skoda Superb did sell 20 cars more than the Accord, but I’d put it down on the new car effect. Either the diesel will make it the class leader, or Skoda’s substandard service will seal its fate. Wait and watch.
• The new 7 series is awesome right, a sure success? WRONG! The Merc S Class outsold the new 7 series 5:1, despite being a 3 year older design (72 for the S versus 15 for the 7). |