[Sir Lancelot]

As a BHPian living in South Africa, here's some local info which may be of interest to you folk over in India.

Total new vehicle sales for the month of May 2015 was at 47 868, representing a 3.2% drop on May 2014.

Mahindra sold 259 vehicles, as follows:

PASSENGER:

Quanto - 6
Scorpio - 6
XUV - 50
Xylo - 10
Ssangyong Korando - 4
Ssangyong Rexton - 2

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE:

Bolero - 77
Genio - 11
Scorpio Pik-Up - 87
Ssangyong Actyon Sports - 6

Tata sold 248 vehicles, as follows:

PASSENGER:

Indica - 22
Vista - 23
Manza - 8

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE:

Super Ace - 61
Telcoline - 20
Xenon - 28

TRUCK/BUS:

Mcv - 25
SK - 1
LPK - 1
LPT - 39
Novus - 2
Prima - 12
LPO - 6

Source: These figures are as released each month by NAAMSA [National Association of Automobile Maunfacturers of South Africa]

[GTO]

Very cool information, thanks for sharing .

Originally Posted by Sir Lancelot

Total new vehicle sales for the month of May 2015 was at 47 868, representing a 3.2% drop on May 2014.

Who are the dominant local manufacturers?

Quanto - 6
Scorpio - 6
XUV - 50
Xylo - 10

Interesting sales ratio. In India, the ranking is Scorpio > XUV500 > Xylo & Quanto. Perhaps the Scorpio is seen as too crude by South Africans, who prefer the more refined car-like XUV500 instead?

Scorpio Pik-Up - 87

Telcoline - 20
Xenon - 28

Wow! You guys sure love your pick-ups .

[SmartCat]

How are the Indian cars priced when compared to Chinese, Korean or Japanese products in each segment in South Africa? What is the perception of Indian cars there - "cheap & cheerful" or "cheap & nasty"?

[ACM]

Odd to see so many Xenons and Telcolines - Possibly even more than their India Sales. And yet no Safari Storms

New Scorpio also does not seem to have made an entry.

Yep would be interested in perception of Indian cars as requested by smartcat above.

[Renjith_Mani]

Originally Posted by smartcat

How are the Indian cars priced when compared to Chinese, Korean or Japanese products in each segment in South Africa? What is the perception of Indian cars there - "cheap & cheerful" or "cheap & nasty"?

I also live in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya)
The reputation of Indian cars are not that bad here. Here the competition is with used cars from Japan, but those cars are in exceptionally good condition. We can say that the cars are like brand new but the prices are that of used cars. With those cars Mahindra and Tata are both offering serious competition. Tata is very popular on heavy vehicles segment as well.

Thar is actually a car that is well suited for African road conditions. Unfortunately Mahindra is not focused in selling Thar in Africa outside SA.

[Sir Lancelot]

Originally Posted by smartcat

How are the Indian cars priced when compared to Chinese, Korean or Japanese products in each segment in South Africa? What is the perception of Indian cars there - "cheap & cheerful" or "cheap & nasty"?

The Indian vehicles are marketed here in a mixed bag of pricing. For example, the Tata Indica is one of the cheapest cars on the market. But then the Mahindra Quanto is more expensive than a Duster or an Ecosport! The XUV on the other hand is good value compared to say a CRV or a RAV4.

The perception of Indian cars here is better than it is of Chinese cars, but it's still in the "cheap and nasty" category mostly. But I think this is because of brand snobbery. In SA, your car says a lot about you, and BMW 3 and Merc C are among the best sellers. People are obsessed with German machines here, even Japanese cars are looked down upon by many....

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by GTO

Wow! You guys sure love your pick-ups .

SA is Pick up country, especially the non metro areas- they call them Bakkies there. similar to the Australian Market (where they are called Utes). They are extensively used by the farming and construction industries.

Thailand, on the other hand, sees Pick ups more as lifestyle vehicles. their philosophy is based on American tastes.

[Sir Lancelot]

Originally Posted by GTO

Very cool information, thanks for sharing .

Wow! You guys sure love your pick-ups .

Yes indeed! The Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger routinely sell over 3000 units each per month. Puts Scorpio Pikup and Xenon sales into perspective....

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

SA is Pick up country, especially the non metro areas- they call them Bakkies there. similar to the Australian Market (where they are called Utes). They are extensively used by the farming and construction industries.

Thailand, on the other hand, sees Pick ups more as lifestyle vehicles. their philosophy is based on American tastes.

Yes and no. In SA pick ups [bakkies] are used for commercial and farming purposes sure. But a huge proportion of urban/suburban dwellers have one in the garage too. They are very much urban lifestyle vehicles here. One often sees mom driving to the mall in one, with baby seat in the back seat [double cabs are big sellers too].

Originally Posted by ACM

Odd to see so many Xenons and Telcolines - Possibly even more than their India Sales. And yet no Safari Storms

New Scorpio also does not seem to have made an entry.

Yep would be interested in perception of Indian cars as requested by smartcat above.

Correct. Safari Storme and Aria are not sold in SA. Why, I don't know. There is a market for sure! New Scorpio has not yet been released here.

Originally Posted by Renjith_Mani

I also live in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya)
The reputation of Indian cars are not that bad here. Here the competition is with used cars from Japan, but those cars are in exceptionally good condition. We can say that the cars are like brand new but the prices are that of used cars. With those cars Mahindra and Tata are both offering serious competition. Tata is very popular on heavy vehicles segment as well.

Thar is actually a car that is well suited for African road conditions. Unfortunately Mahindra is not focused in selling Thar in Africa outside SA.

Actually Mahindra does not sell the Thar in SA. To my knowledge they brought a few units in a couple of years ago, but it is not sold now and there are only a handful in the country.

[Sir Lancelot]

Originally Posted by GTO

Very cool information, thanks for sharing .

Who are the dominant local manufacturers?

Interesting sales ratio. In India, the ranking is Scorpio > XUV500 > Xylo & Quanto. Perhaps the Scorpio is seen as too crude by South Africans, who prefer the more refined car-like XUV500 instead?

Wow! You guys sure love your pick-ups .

The top sales position varies between Toyota/VW/Ford [6000-8000 units each per month]. Next tier down would be Chev/Isuzu/Opel [GM] and Nissan [4000-5000 units each per month], and then BMW/Mercedes Benz/ Renault [around 2000 units each per month]. Other players over 500 units per month are Chrysler/Fiat, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki and Jaguar/Land Rover.

Although the Scorpio has a small loyal following here, you are right that is too crude for local tastes, hence the broader popularity of the XUV.

To contextualise Xenon/Telcoline/Genio/Bolero/Scorpio Pikup sales, the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux routinely shift 3000 units each per month in SA. Indian manufacturers are only picking up the crumbs, so to speak.

[Sir Lancelot]

As a BHPian living in South Africa, here's some local info which may be of interest to you folk over in India.

Total new vehicle sales for the month of June 2015 was at 50 251, representing a 4.8% drop on June 2014.

Mahindra sold 261 vehicles, as follows:

PASSENGER:

Quanto - 4
Scorpio - 6
XUV - 47
Xylo - 8
Ssangyong Korando - 6
Ssangyong Rexton - 2

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE:

Bolero - 86
Genio - 10
Scorpio Pik-Up - 88
Ssangyong Actyon Sports - 4

Tata sold 240 vehicles, as follows:

PASSENGER:

Indica - 15
Vista - 14
Manza - 1

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE:

Super Ace - 53
Telcoline - 23
Xenon - 21

TRUCK/BUS:

Mcv - 40
LPK - 1
LPT - 43
Novus - 3
Prima - 17
LPO - 9

Source: These figures are as released each month by NAAMSA [National Association of Automobile Maunfacturers of South Africa]

[Zappo]

Interesting! M&Ms Bolero is managing to conjure up almost the same magic there, a grand total of 86 vehicles in a month, when compared to the absolutely measly numbers of all other vehicles that they sell there. Ok Scorpio Pikup is an anomaly may be!

[vinit.merchant]

Very interesting. So indian car makers make up 1% of the total monthly sales there.

Looking at the period of presence in SA market by the indian Manufacturers, I would say the numbers are quite disappointing, and they have a long way to go to make any mark in the sales figures.

[Sir Lancelot]

As a BHPian living in South Africa, here's some local info which may be of interest to you folk over in India.

Total new vehicle sales for the month of July 2015 was at 54 112, representing a 6.1% drop on July 2014.

Mahindra sold 261 vehicles, as follows:

PASSENGER:

Quanto - 4
Scorpio - 5
XUV - 43
Xylo - 10
Ssangyong Korando - 4

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE:

Bolero - 106
Genio - 10
Scorpio Pik-Up - 79
Ssangyong Actyon Sports - 0

Tata sold 278 vehicles, as follows:

PASSENGER:

Indica - 37
Vista - 39
Manza - 5

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE:

Super Ace - 54
Telcoline - 13
Xenon - 21

TRUCK/BUS:

Mcv - 49
LPK - 6
LPT - 46
LPO - 1
Prima - 7

Source: These figures are as released each month by NAAMSA [National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa]

[Sir Lancelot]

As a BHPian living in South Africa, here's some local info which may be of interest to you folk over in India.

Total new vehicle sales for the month of August 2015 was at 51 055, representing a 8.2% drop on August 2014.

Mahindra sold 282 vehicles, as follows:

PASSENGER:

Quanto - 3
Scorpio - 8
XUV - 57
Xylo - 11
Ssangyong Korando - 3
Ssangyong Rexton - 1

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE:

Bolero - 104
Genio - 8
Scorpio Pik-Up - 87

Tata sold 256 vehicles, as follows:

PASSENGER:

Indica - 22
Vista - 18
Manza - 3

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE:

Super Ace - 55
Telcoline - 24
Xenon - 38

TRUCK/BUS:

Mcv - 28
SK -
LPK - 9
LPT - 40
Novus - 5
Prima - 10
LPO - 4

Source: These figures are as released each month by NAAMSA [National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa]

[benbsb29]

Thanks for sharing these numbers.
Interestingly, the Bolero seems to be doing better than the rest even in South Africa!