I'm one of the customers who booked an MG Astor through a dealership. And with no prior notice, MG has delayed the delivery of my car by 6 months.

Thanks to Afshana Fathima for sending this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Hi,

I sincerely request you to post an article about the pathetic experience MG Motor has been giving to its Astor customers. As you’d know, MG promised to deliver 5000 Astors to the customers who booked it on the first day.

I’m one of the customers who made a booking through a dealership (first slot), the Sharp CVT variant. But to our surprise and with no prior notice, MG has delayed our delivery by 6 months. And the worst part is that many have either sold their existing cars or never booked another car, hoping MG will hold true to its promise. Neither the dealers nor MG is giving any clarification about this. Here are some tweets from other customers for your reference:

Here's what BHPian manpreetsj had to say about the matter:

Even though I have cancelled the booking for Astor and got it adjusted with Hector Sharp CVT booking, the booking for Astor is still active. Maybe the dealer wants to double count a single booking?

I had booked Astor 220T Starry Black Savvy (Sharp O). For me, the status shows Dec 21 delivery.

Maybe due to chip shortage and limited manufacturing capacity, MG's focus is on selling top trims wherein they can make maximum profits. Hence, deprioritizing lower / entry variants.

The Co. has to survive and prove itself to HoldCo., hence makes sense for them to do it. But they should not have taken advance beyond 5K bookings for now. Though M&M and Koreans are also doing the same, hence MG is not doing anything different from standard practice.

It's a seller's market post-covid! Play by their rules or stay out of the game for the next 1 year, by when hopefully supply will improve.

Here's what BHPian vagman had to say about the matter:

Just got to know from my dealer in Mumbai West that delivery for the Style variant will start from late Q1 2022.

If no Style variants are being delivered this year, is it fair to assume that the introductory prices for the Style variant were nothing but a marketing gimmick, considering the prices will likely increase next year? MG needs to address this by at least providing assurance of price protection for the buyers who booked the car on 21st October.

Here's what BHPian neeraj0272 had to say about the matter:

Did MG tell any of its pre-booking customers that they will stop pre-booking after the first lot of 5000 bookings? MG certainly didn't tell me so. They only wanted my booking amount with a promise to book my car as soon as the booking portal opens so that I will be the 1st in the queue to get the car.

So wasn't it logical to assume that for bookings made in excess of 5000 bookings, excess customers would have to wait? So it was obvious from day one that after the 1st lot of 'lucky' 5000 customers, the rest of the 'unlucky' ones will either have to wait for their car or cancel their bookings and get in the queue for a refund? So why aren't some of these customers now ready to wait? I am sure that if they pore over the booking T&C then they will find that MG has mentioned about the waiting game.

Sure there might be genuine complaints about the unfair process of allotment but with the booking amount paid these customers have themselves fallen into the hands of MG. This is almost a standard practice in any business i.e. to get an advance from a customer so that customer doesn't run to other options. I hear that other manufacturers did so in the past just like Mahindra & MG is doing now. Just now a friend was telling me about the same thing about Honda from a few years back.

The funniest part is that there is not a single owner review of this car yet and still potential Astor customers are complaining like they have lost the golden opportunity of a lifetime!

I will advise Astor buyers who have already booked to be a little patient. MG is not running away. MG needs to deliver the car and they will deliver the car to get the rest of the money. A little late maybe. Meanwhile, owner reviews will be coming out soon. Then they can decide to keep the booking or cancel the booking.

Regarding the price protection, a few thousands here & there for a 15L to 20L car is a trivial issue. And I am almost sure MG won't increase prices for the next lot of Astor to safeguard their brand image. Besides, by next year the market will cool down and pretty soon it's going to be a buyers' market again.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

They responded to it by saying that they can't find my booking on their booking website.

BHPian dr_TJ recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I finally decided to get the new Mahindra Thar last month (July 2021) and because of the local restrictions in my state, Assam, I planned to book it online. Upon doing a bit of Google search, I found Mahindra's accessories e-Market website of m2all.com and it had the option of online booking for the New Mahindra Thar with a booking amount of Rs 5000. So I proceeded to book my Thar, LX HT AT Diesel in Galaxy/Deep Grey on 09-July-2021. I got an email with my order number from m2all.com, Then for a week or so, there was no update. Upon enquiring on Twitter with Mahindra support, I got a call from my Local selected Dealership. They sounded clueless regarding my online booking. Two weeks went by with no update whatsoever.

Then on 26-July-2021, got another call from Mahindra Dealership asking me screenshots of my order on m2all.com and I also got a call from Mahindra Support regarding the same.

Afterwards, Mahindra Support emailed me to share the same booking screenshots, which I did. They responded to it by saying that they can't find my booking on their booking website of auto.mahindra.com and so they have escalated the matter to their seniors. Meanwhile my m2all.com account got updated with details of my booking, variant, color plus a SKU code.

Thereafter I got a new sms from Mahindra regarding booking of my new Mahindra Thar on 30-July-2021 and a personnel from the local Dealership called me to inform he placed a new booking on auto.mahindra.com and said that the booking amount is Rs 21000 and since I paid Rs 5000 already on m2all.com, I need to send the Balance amount of Rs 16000, which I did on 30-July-2021. Now, my concern is, which booking date is to be believed, 9-July-2021 or 30-July-2021. The delayed booking date will also push back my delivery date.

The biggest question is why does Mahindra have two websites for booking and don't they have any communication between the two? I don't want to have any argument or any bad vibes with my local dealership because it's not their fault, but what is wrong with Mahindra?  Feels like I am taken for a ride. Can't they solve such trivial issues immediately?

As of now, Booking facility via m2all.com is closed it seems as it now shows out of stock.

What do you guys suggest?

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Typical of many of Mahindra's initiatives. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Here's what BHPian tilt had to say on the matter:

I too discovered that site and thought it would be good to book at 5K instead of 21K since the amount would be stuck for a year.

It took me all the way to me providing my credit card details on the Razorpay screen and then glitched at the OTP screen saying "Server error, this has been communicated and will be set right".

This kept happening. I involved the dealer I selected, and had them escalate to Mahindra. Over a period of two weeks at least, there was a lot of back-and forth between me, my dealer, my dealer's web-marketing-manager and Mahindra and the M2ALL site.

Finally someone from Mahindra/M2ALL's senior team called me and told me that it is not possible to book on M2ALL. And since that facility had been removed, what they apparently did was instead of completely removing that option (meaning, do not show a booking option at all), they decided to disable the very final stage of accepting payment (but they still collect all your info and also your credit card info along with the CVV).

And they informed the dealer that they will either remove this feature completely; or enable the booking feature with 21K as the booking amount.

And here I thought I was being smart and gaming the system by booking for 5K while every other "sucker" booked for 21K. The joke's on me after all.

Also, yes, Mahindra had no clue that this was an option on M2ALL and nobody seems to remember that the site even exists!

Here's what BHPian HP-BHP had to say on the matter:

Mahindra M2all.com did offer car booking for a year or two but the whole experience was always a half baked one. One of my colleagues tried booking the car during the lockdown but it never went through. He finally booked the car through the dealer by sending payment through UPI.

It seems that idea of having two online booking platforms came during two seperate meetings at Mahindra with separate teams who developed the product independently (and never met). While M2all.com works well for accessories (tried it a couple of times) but I guess booking the car from the dealer is still a better option in India (for the time being).

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The GLA 35 AMG will be powered by a 2.0L turbo-petrol engine producing 302 BHP.

Mercedes-Benz has started accepting online bookings for the second generation GLA crossover in India.

In India, Mercedes will offer the GLA with three engine options. The entry-level unit is a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol producing 161 BHP and 250 Nm.

The second engine is a 2.0-litre diesel unit equipped with a variable geometry turbocharger. The engine makes 187 BHP. The diesel version of the car will get an all-wheel drive option.

There will also be an AMG variant called the GLA 35 AMG. It will be powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 302 BHP. Unlike the regular petrol version, the AMG will get an all-wheel drive system. This variant is expected to be assembled locally.

The second-generation Mercedes GLA is scheduled to be launched next month.

The S60 is powered by a 2.0L petrol engine that produces 187 BHP and 300 Nm. It does not get a diesel engine option.

Volvo has started accepting advance online bookings for the third generation S60. The introductory price of the sedan is Rs. 45.90 lakh (ex-showroom). This price is valid on online bookings for a limited period only.

The third-generation S60 is based on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform. The car measures 4,761 mm in length, 2040 mm in width, 1,431 mm in height and its wheelbase is 2,872 mm. It features Thor's hammer LED daytime running lights at the front and has a reworked rear end with C-shaped LED tail lights. The car rides on 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels.

On the inside, the car gets a vertically mounted touchscreen infotainment head-unit just like the second-generation model. It comes equipped with features such as 4-zone automatic climate control, Harman Kardon audio system, wireless charging and panoramic sunroof.

Some of the safety features offered in the S60 include adaptive cruise control, pilot assist, oncoming mitigation by braking, city safety with steering support, Run-off Road Mitigation, lane keeping aid, driver alert control and brakes with hill start assist.

The S60 is powered by a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine that produces 187 BHP and 300 Nm.

Volvo is also offering complementary membership to its exclusive Tre Kronor Experience program. It includes a dedicated Volvo relationship manager, doorstep solutions for certain services, complimentary pick up and drop of cars for service-related needs, benefits for referring new customers and rewards for new purchases.

The carmaker has received nearly 21 lakh digital enquiries.

Maruti Suzuki has announced that it has sold 2 lakh vehicles through its online sales network since April 2019. The carmaker has received nearly 21 lakh digital enquiries.

Maruti launched its digital sales platform around 2 years ago. It covers nearly 1,000 dealerships across India. Google research suggests that 72% of customers search for dealers online.

Maruti started accepting online bookings in 2017. Since then, the carmaker has seen a 5-fold increase to around 20% of total sales. During the Covid-19 pandemic, digital enquiries have increased further. Maruti claims that during the last 5 months digital enquiries have exceeded 33% of total sales.

Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki, has stated that nearly 95% of new car sales in India are digitally influenced according to the Google Auto Gear Shift India 2020 report. Customers research online before visiting the dealership to make a purchase. Customers who enquire through Maruti's digital channel end up purchasing a car within 10 days.

The Gloster will compete with the Toyota Fortuner & Ford Endeavour.

MG Motor has started accepting pre-bookings for the Gloster SUV. Customers can place their orders on this website. The booking amount has been set at Rs. 1 lakh.

The MG Gloster is powered by a 2.0-litre, twin-turbo diesel engine rated at 215 BHP @ 4,000 rpm and 480 Nm @ 1,500-2,400 rpm. It is paired with an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

The Gloster has four-wheel-drive with a BorgWarner transfer case as standard. It gets independent suspension at the front and a 5-link suspension at the back. The SUV comes with seven different drive modes - Snow, Mud, Sand, Eco, Sport, Normal and Rock.

The Gloster gets advanced safety features like radar guided cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, automatic park assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, forward collision warning as well as a fatigue reminder system.

On the interior, the SUV gets a 12.3-inch touchscreen head-unit and an 8-inch instrument cluster. It also comes equipped with 3-zone automatic climate control, ventilated front seats (heated only), captain seats in the second row, 12-way adjustable driver seat with memory function, a panoramic sunroof and 71 iSmart connected car features.

The MG Gloster will be offered in four colour options - Agate Red, Metal Black, Metal Ash and Warm White.

The Hyundai Creta has recorded more than 55,000 bookings since it was launched in March, this year.

Just 4 months after the launch of the Creta in India, Hyundai had received more than 20,000 bookings for the SUV. Also, in the month of May and June 2020, the Creta was the top-selling SUV in the Indian market.

Diesel variants constitute 60% of the total bookings received. According to the company, the Creta was the most researched model on its 'Click to Buy' online platform, where 30% of customers enquired for the Creta. 76% of the bookings were also done online.

The second generation Creta is available in 7 petrol and 5 diesel variants, with prices starting at Rs. 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The SUV comes with three engine options. These include a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine producing 113 BHP and 144 Nm, a 1.4-litre, turbo petrol that makes 138 BHP and 242 Nm and a 1.5-litre diesel engine that puts out 113 BHP and 250 Nm. The petrol engines are available with 6-speed manual, 7-speed DCT and a CVT, while the diesel engine comes with either a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission.

BMW has launched its online sales platform called BMW Contactless Experience.

BMW Contactless Experience enables customers to explore and buy new and pre-owned BMW cars, book vehicle service and make online payments.

Customers can visit this website to select the model of their choice. They can then select the nearest dealership and connect with a representative online. Customers can interact with the sale consultant using their smartphone, tablet or personal computer. They can access a 360-degree view of the exterior and interior of the vehicle and get brochures, specifications and other documents online. Payments can be made online and the car will be delivered to the customer's door step. Pre-owned cars are also available on this platform.

Existing BMW customers can use this platform to book vehicle service. Customers can choose a convenient date and time, type of service required and confirm vehicle pick and drop details. Service cost estimates along with details of the service are sent for customer approval using BMW Smart Video.

The cars are sanitised before delivery and the documents are handed over in sanitised envelopes.

Mercedes-Benz has launched an online sales platform called 'Merc from Home'. Using this platform, customers can book and purchase a new car and also get it delivered at their doorstep. The full functionality of the platform is expected to resume from 4th May, 2020.

Merc from Home is divided into three basic steps - Click, Consult and Buy. The platform comes with a live consultation studio, which offers personalized product demonstrations and consultation to customers. It also offers finance and other value added services.

Customers can browse through Mercedes' product portfolio on this website. Customers can then select a model and configure it with the colour of their choice and optional accessories. The platform also displays the on-road prices and information on the availability of cars.

Once the customers have configured the car, they can consult product experts for additional technical information. Customers can also choose commercial consultation for special offers and finance quotes. The online concierge service is available from 10 am until midnight.

Tata Motors has launched an online sales platform called 'Click to Drive'. The platform has been integrated with more than 750 dealerships across India. A vehicle home delivery option will be introduced at a later date.

To buy a car, customers have to register on the Click to Drive website and select a model of their choice. Customers can view the video brochure to know more details of each car.

The Tata Altroz comes with an online configurator which can be used to customize the car by selecting the variant, colours and other options.

Once the vehicle is selected, customers can select their preferred dealer for either home delivery or collect at the dealership at a later date.

Booking amount for the cars can be paid online. An order confirmation will be sent via email. Customers will be guided through the remaining process by the Tata Motors call centre and a sales consultant from their preferred dealership. Customers can also avail financing and exchange services as well as get price quotes.

The entire process is completed virtually using emails, WhatsApp and video calls.