Thanks Rush for the new improved display of sales figures.
The sales figures for August 2011 are quite crucial and indicative of how our car makers have fared and will fare during trying times. The interest rates on loans have reached dizzying heights due to the credit crunch and crisis.Petrol rates have also reached an all time high and despite the diesel prices being jacked up, the price differential between these two fuels is still a whopping Rs 22 to Rs 25.
Coming to the top 20, it has seven models of Maruti featuring, the top 2 slots being their occupied territory. Obviously the DZire has pipped the Swift as Swift production was stopped and the new model launch had and still has hiccups owing to the Manesar good conduct saga. Quality problems are bound to crop up sooner or later. Workers having "good conduct" work now at Manesar according to MSIL, but they are raw ITI pass-outs. Other newbies are also being enrolled and engineers from Gurgaon are here.Gurgaon makes the 800,Wagon R, Alto,Omni and so on.The other hi-tech, higher priced Marutis are all made in Manesar where there is trouble (now on a 24X7 basis).So Gurgaon cannot be Manesar and the vice versa! You cannot deploy Chevrolet engineers to make Cadillacs. The Eeco has after all taken off !The A Star is another freak baby from MSIL!
Hyundai has four slots in the top 20. All these cars from HMIL deserve to be there. The i10 is quite well accepted by buyers, but as promised by HMIL during its launch in 2008, its diesel version is STILL AWAITED???
With a diesel heart, this car could have been at no 2 or maybe even no.1.The Santro still outsells many other cars in its class.And lastly, the new Fluidic Verna has made an impact. The older Verna never actually deserved to succeed the Accent- The Accent during its fading times almost outsold the old Verna.
The two cars from Tata are there in the top 20 as expected. The Nano on which Tata pinned its hopes, perhaps to outsell the VW Beetle and the public said that it will cause traffic snarls as it will become as common as flies and mosquitoes, is nowhere to be seen in the top 20. A pity! Today (Sunday), I saw a yellow Nano at the Tata showroom being readied for tomorrow,perhaps for a roadshow with huge stickers on all its doors saying "Rs 20,000 off "!!! Honda corrected the City price and this car has reached the 11th position on the top 20. Respected Ratanji who is making sincere efforts to prop up Nano sales feels the Nano can do a City. It cannot as a Tata is not a Honda! And I fully agree with Rush when he says the Nano is a flop! The adverse publicity took its toll. Who will buy a combustible car? Even if the media has blown up the events, the car has now got the "fire" tag embedded on its CV.
Coming to Mahindra,the top 20 has to feature the Bolero at the 10 plus or minus two slot, without which the chart cannot be genuine or complete.It has just fully captured the rural and taxi market. The government goes for Boleros too.It is perhaps the most suitable replacement for the good old Ambassador.
And the Scorpio has just beaten the Innova after a long, long time to emerge as the best selling SUV. Its like the Indy Pulsar outselling the Jap Honda bikes!! A tribute to the Scorpio and for all it stands.The Xylo sales after the initial hype and good figures and long waiting lists have now started going downhill. Its resale value is lower than the Scorpio.The Verito from M&M has picked up sales wise.
The VW Vento has outsold the Polo and is there, be it even at no. 20.A good preformance by VW India.
Ford has only the Figo to boast of, while GM has its Beat both having diesel variants on offer. Where's the new Fiesta? It sold 401 units, but I am yet to see any! The Spark ain't going nowhere! Its sales in August are lower vis a vis its March sales by almost 60%.
The Fiat sales are pathetic.In the Tata showrooms, apart from the Indica/Vista and Indigo/Manza perhaps all other offerings are haunted! The "Petrol Ke Price Mein Diesel" campaign and offer has miserably flopped, it appears. The Tavera outsells the once very popular Sumo!
The HM Mitsubishi stable is also haunted perhaps.The Pajero sales at 175 units are good - maybe it is able outsell the good ol' Amby sometime soon! Every few months, we read that the Amby is being spruced up and so on, but the same old one is seen in showrooms.
Next month, lets watch whether the Sonata (12) outsells the Kizashi (8) or the other way? Both are "khandani" coming from best selling companies!
The Toyota Etios and Liva are yet to make any major impact.The Nissan Micra is also not a good seller yet!
The same market conditions continue during September. The festival season is fast approaching, which will surely boost sales by this month end . Lets wait and watch the chart busters and the laggards.