Some performances that stood out:
- History in the making, folk. For the first time in a decade, the Honda City has been dethroned as the king of the 8 - 9 lakh rupee sedan segment. The Vento records nearly 4,000 shipments!! In my Vento test-drive, I had clearly mentioned that this all-rounded sedan is the only one that can take the fight to the mighty H. It's got the badge value too. The Vento's diesel is as much an advantage to VW, as the lack of one is a disadvantage to Honda. The SX4 also - thanks to its diesel - now overtakes the Honda City.
- Aria tanks. Not surprising, considering Tata's over-confident pricing strategy. Dealer complaints about unsold Arias in their inventory have already started doing the rounds. It's ironical really; Tata have traditionally had the right price, but an inconsistent product. The Aria is probably the first Tata to be A+ out of the box, but priced so poorly. Mahindra must be watching the Aria's performance closely (as part of their W201 strategy).
- Nice to see the Nano's upward climb. The cute li'l car deserves success, bad press be damned. Sumo / Grande sell close to the Xylo! And the Safari's 2K units aren't bad either.
- The overpriced Kizashi is meeting the fate it deserves; barely a 100 units moved in only its 3rd month! Maruti should really concentrate on the volume segment, that's what it does & understands best. For instance, the stonking performance of the Alto. This car alone outsells the entire portfolio of India's no. 2 car manufacturer. Other stars from the Maruti garage are the WagonR, Swift and Dzire.
- Fortuner? Status quo. A 20 lakh rupee game changer? You bet. The Etios also steadily climbs up the charts, limited only by production capacity. Believe me, the Etios has given the C segment sedan buyer just what he wants (except for a diesel, which should be coming soon).
- The i10, i20 and Santro continue a highly respectable performance. The i10 in particular fights it out successfully, despite not having a diesel engine.
- Verna sales down to 500. Production stopped. New Verna comin'!
- Not much happening for Honda otherwise. Jazz sells less than the Accord & Civic! Brio is make-it-or-break-it for Honda India.
- A rare comeback from a flop vehicle : Mahindra indeed does it better when alone. They have managed to make the Logan a consistent 1,000 / month seller.
- Between the UVs, it's the Innova neck to neck with the Scorpio! The Innova - as the most all-rounded UV - continues its hold over the premium UV segment. But the Scorpio is close. Irony is that, the Xylo was supposed to be an Innova-fighter. The UV-Emperor Bolero seems untouchable, rural India fascination et al.
- The Polo also records a reasonable month for a premium hatch, with a score of 3,881. Out dragged by sister Vento though.
- After the diesel, the Micra has happily settled at the 2,000 monthly mark. Rather good for a fresh car from a relatively fresh brand, and an extremely limited dealership network.
- The
impure Cayenne outsells all of Porsche's
pure sports cars. Now, who was arguing about Porsche making SUVs again?
. Indians deeply value practicality, even when spending a crore.
- The Laura is simply not selling as much as it should, what with a diesel, petrol and AT box. The Superb, on the other hand, continues its dominance of the 20 lakh segment. Will the newly launched Passat pose a tough fight? Skoda managed to resurrect the Fabia's position in the market. Another comeback from a flop car (used to do barely 500 units a month before the facelift).
- The Cruze is indeed the best selling C+ segment diesel sedan. The Altis is the best seller by over a 100 units, but it also has a petrol variant.
- Figo has one of its best months ever, with nearly 9,000 units shipped from the factory! This is 3 - 4 months of Ford's pre-Figo sales.
- Nice to see the Spark and Beat having settled at about the 3,000 mark each. GM's diesel Beat will easily double the sales.
- Why is GM even bothering with duds like the Aveo & UVA? Instead, they ought to focus completely on their contemporary products. These two are an unnecessary distraction.