[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by misquitas

How else does one explain the A-Star picture being described as "Alto" in an article on the Indian bestseller?

That's very simple. A-Star is the Alto in the outside India. Suzuki is known for selling various generations of Alto side-by-side in India. And I think, the Ritz is sold as Splash in other markets.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by vb-san

That's very simple. A-Star is the Alto in the outside India. Suzuki is known for selling various generations of Alto side-by-side in India. And I think, the Ritz is sold as Splash in other markets.

The point I was trying to make is this: When an India website is fully aware that the A-Star is sold separately from the Alto, why do they picture an A-Star with an Alto badge here in India? The article was clearly about the performance of the Indian Alto and of not the A-Star. If Maruti/Suzuki wants to club the A-Star along with the Alto, they should club the sales of the 2 cars as well, just as Tata does it with the Indica/Vista and Indigo/Manza. The sales of the Alto A-star/K10 would then touch a record 40K sales.

I would even go as far as to suggest that the Maruti should merge the two variants under the Alto umbrella. This would have multiple benefits:

* It could well improve the sales of the A-Star, given the brand loyalty towards the Alto. You could have three main variants of the Alto -- 800, K10 and Star -- with different trim levels.

* Maruti would then have one model with two petrol engines across a wide price range -- right from Alto 800 standard to the topmost model of the A-Star (auto/zxi). This range would be even wider than the present twin engine range of the I10 (from D-lite to Asta).

* Alto loyalists would have an easy upgrade option from 800/K10 to the Star in the small Maruti hatch category.

* This merger would further strengthen/consolidate the image of the Alto in the Indian market, which would make it difficult for any other manufacturer to challenge the Alto for the top slot.


By the way, how and why is it that the Nano has simply not been able to come even close to the sales of the Alto, even when the Nano is easily available off the shelf?

[driving_smartly]

Originally Posted by misquitas

By the way, how and why is it that the Nano has simply not been able to come even close to the sales of the Alto, even when the Nano is easily available off the shelf?

I guess Alto has established it self since a decade, were as nano is yet to rule in heart of Masses. What i recollect that nano's first month sales were in range of 5xx. Gradually with more advertisement on TV and 4 years warranty did give it a boost it required but still it as not been able cope with the sales of Alto. Also the media hype about burning Nano's hasn't helped either. Now that it is available off the shelf i think TATA marketing guys need to pull off some magic to at-least get competitive market share (which seems difficult but yet possible) rather than targeting Alto.
It is just my opinion

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by misquitas

The point I was trying to make is this: When an India website is fully aware that the A-Star is sold separately from the Alto, why do they picture an A-Star with an Alto badge here in India? The article was clearly about the performance of the Indian Alto and of not the A-Star.

Maybe the website flicked the content from some other source, and created their own version

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by skjlives

Came across this phenomenal stat while browsing... An Indian car as the world's highest selling model!

Maruti Suzuki Alto becomes world's largest selling car

Lets Go!

whoaa... this Definitely a case of Wrong Reporting. Never Mind, I already posted my comment on this page and don't want to be repetitive. Here is the link.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...st-seller.html

I love the alto, but I am more than 100% sure that its definitely not the world's best selling car as of now. Has anyone Read Matt's blog. Mine the data there and you will find the truth.

[CARDEEP]

To arrest the dismal sales performance of the Aria, Tata will delete few features & the 4wd which would ensure a cheaper Aria. They expect the cheaper Aria to lure few more buyers & improve the sales numbers in coming months.

ICB link

As expected, the Tata Aria Crossover MPV will go LoCo soon! | Indian Cars & Motorcycles Blog

[skjlives]

Originally Posted by anu21v

whoaa... this Definitely a case of Wrong Reporting. Never Mind, I already posted my comment on this page and don't want to be repetitive. Here is the link.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...st-seller.html

I love the alto, but I am more than 100% sure that its definitely not the world's best selling car as of now. Has anyone Read Matt's blog. Mine the data there and you will find the truth.

I agree. There's something majorly off about that article I posted, but the irony is that many other sources are floating this wrong story. Or, it may be a case of tweaking the criteria of selection to show a product in positive light. The criterion might be largest selling car with engine under 800cc.

[gshanky]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

To arrest the dismal sales performance of the Aria, Tata will delete few features & the 4wd which would ensure a cheaper Aria. They expect the cheaper Aria to lure few more buyers & improve the sales numbers in coming months.

ICB link

As expected, the Tata Aria Crossover MPV will go LoCo soon! | Indian Cars & Motorcycles Blog

Here are some additional snippets from IAB

NDTV Profit this morning reported that Tata Motors will introduce the 4×2 version of the Aria in the next six months. This variant will be a good one lakh rupees cheaper than the existing 4×4 model.

Besides this, Tata Motors is also working on a de-contended version of the Aria that will lack serious equipment and current levels of finish. This variant will be at least two and a half lakh rupees cheaper, the report adds. This move is clearly to take the Aria close to the Innova, the king of the MPV segment in India.

Tata sold just 100-odd units in March and this was due to the shortage of infotainment system which Tata imports from the Chinese market.

src - Tata Aria 4X2 in 6 months; de-contented Aria in pipeline | Indian Autos blog

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by skjlives

I agree. There's something majorly off about that article I posted, but the irony is that many other sources are floating this wrong story. Or, it may be a case of tweaking the criteria of selection to show a product in positive light. The criterion might be largest selling car with engine under 800cc.

He he he.... thats quite right. I think its just a marketing Gimmick thought out by Marketing Summer Interns at Maruti Suzuki. . Just kidding.

Actually I was more amazed to find some official comments in such article by none other than Marketing CGM of Maruti (India Infoline Article). As usual The criteria presented in that article was too bad to be proven.

Though it would really be a great day when one of our India Specific cars turns out to be the world's best selling cars, but seriously that would also be the day when India Gets certified as the worst Polluted country . Dont think India as a country can afford to buy that many cars and remain less polluted.

[bluevolt]

Day winded up but no sales figures yet? Is the delay because of the Sunday?
Eagerly waiting for the April sales figures, please Bring them up GTO. Searched all business sites but all in vain.

[NetfreakBombay]

Some of April figures are out.

Nano crossed 10K mark (for dealer shipments)

[TheARUN]

Eagerly awaiting the April numbers. I have a feeling the ALTO has slowed down

[amitku]

Eagerly awaiting April 11 Sales figures. Have been anxious since yesterday.
Waiting for the GTO Magic to unfold..!! Wanna see if the production cuts have started impacting Toyota and Honda..?? How far has VW Vento climbed..

[Ram_NP]

Till, we get the details from our moderators, here is MSIL sales details for April 2011 (attached).

In April'11, MSIL has clocked 87,114 units in domestic sales and overall 97,155 units including exports.

There is a definite decrease in sales for A2 segment (Alto, A-Star, Estilo, Wagon-R, Ritz and Switft) in April'11 . In April '11, MSIL sold 57,443 units in A2 segment compared to March 2011 (78,460 units).

Waiting for the model wise details from our moderators.

[aby]

Barring Nano, Tata's passenger car division seems to have hit a big speed bump.

The company sold just 2.2% more passenger cars year-on-year during the month in the domestic market at 25,436 units. This included 23,387 Tata passenger cars and 2,049 Fiat cars Tata Motors distributed in India.

Passenger Vehicles
The passenger vehicles business reported a total sale and distribution offtake of 25,436 nos. (23,387 Tata + 2,049 Fiat) in the domestic market in April 2011, compared to 24,899 nos. (23,099 Tata + 1,800 Fiat) in April last year. Sales of Tata passenger vehicles for April 2011 are at 23,387 nos, clocking a gentle growth over April last year. Sales of the Tata Nano were 10,012 nos., higher by 184% over April last year. The Indica range sales were 4,250 nos., lower by 53% over April last year. The Indigo range recorded sales of 5,282 nos., lower by 27% over April last year. The Sumo/ Safari/ Aria/ Venture range accounted for sales of 3,843 nos., higher by 15% over April last year.

Source : Tata Motors April sales up 13%