[damodar]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

This is still more than Volkswagen/Skoda (combined), Chevrolet, Renault/Nissan/Datsun (combined), and Fiat.

This complete dominance of Maruti can also be attributed to the 2000 odd dealerships of Maruti/Nexa which is more than 3 times the number of Hyundai dealerships. It's time some one comes up with the number of units sold per dealer which will provide a better understanding how each manufacturer is faring. Because it's the dealership performance which dictates the companies future and also customer satisfaction.

[mayankjha1806]

Excellent report, I was curious on how much the launches of Ford, Tata, Mitsubishi and Mahindra etc in the SUV segment have dented the fascination towards Fortuner. Also with me hearing that dealers arent taking any bookings on Fortuner still it matching monthly numbers from Ford and others is no mean task.

Also i was told S-Cross is a failure, but it seems to be doing decent 2K number every month, doesnt sound like a DUD to me.

[volkman10]

India surpasses China in passenger car exports .

India’s position with respect to China may come as a surprise to many but this is not the first time that India has beaten China in terms of car exports. India first overtook China on the export front in 2009 with automotive exports amounting to 201,138 cars (January to July 2009) as compared to China’s 164,800.

http://www.autocarpro.in/analysis-re...-exports-20224

[hybridpetrol]

Interesting figures!

Out of the top 20, there are 11 Marutis, 4 Hyundais, 3 Mahindras, 1 Toyota & 1 Renault!

No place for Honda here - City somehow slipping. Jazz is a good package this time around, but again pricing made the buyers run towards the Elite or other options.

Innova, with its 20L pricing moves 7K units, but BR-V, right in the first month can't sell many!

KUV100 comes as the new topper for Mahindra! The way M&M is growing in this space is interesting. They bring in various vehicles in different price bands to quench the SUV thirst of buyers.

Vitara Brezza on the first month sells more than twice of Ecosport. I would say it is only due to the Maruti's sales reach and its after sales support network. Ford exists only in major cities and villages / towns that are more than 100 kms from nearby city would rather buy a Maruti.

Alto is still about 19K strong, while its challenger Kwid is doing 5K numbers - Hope the demand is still as big as the initial days for the Kwid.

Redi-Go already has a lukewarm response - let us see after product launch.

And finally about Tata - Tiago is 3K numbers now. Hoped to do more. Zest managed similar numbers in the launch days. Seriously hope Tiago exceeds this 3K numbers and goes on to enter top 20.

[SmartCat]

In this ET Auto article, there is something new about Honda's lower sales - "annual plant maintenance shutdown"
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/52611124.cms

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Also i was told S-Cross is a failure, but it seems to be doing decent 2K number every month, doesnt sound like a DUD to me.

Since all Suzukis clock 5000 per month as minimum, S-Cross with a "paltry" sales of 2000 per month is considered a "failure". It's like a school kid topper who scores 98 in all subjects but "only" 82 in Maths.

[volkman10]

Maruti Suzuki scaling new heights, tops leading segments,pockets the lead in UV. premium hatch and C segments!

May final figures,

Elite i20 8600
Baleno 10004




http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/52611124.cms

[pgsagar]

Maruti is a raging bull. After S-Cross price fiasco, they bounced back with Brezza. When Maruti scales up Brezza nos. , it will make life very difficult for Creta. Already Creta is down from its 12 K peak a few months ago. Just wait till Maruti unleashes full potential of Brezza. Why is Swift slipping , even behind Wagon R? And Honda seems to have lost its way. They should not have ditched Civic, Accord. As for M&M, Scorpio, Bolero and XUV keep the M&M flag flying. New kids failed to light up the market.

[bluevolt]

So after so many years again, Honda City has been dethroned from the segment leader ladder. And this time, it's Ciaz making way all ahead.

In my opinion, Ciaz well deserved to grab number one position after all this hard work. Completely agree that Ciaz is not a street looker like the Honda City, nor it is the fastest of the lot, nor it has the brilliant petrol engine that the Honda City offers; but what it has sheer value for money proposition, a fuel efficient diesel engine with hybrid tech exempted from odd-even rule, strong marketing by Maruti, good offers by their dealers, way cheaper than a Honda City diesel makes it to the number one position.

Honda City dethroned? May be its time for Honda to bring in the face lifted City as soon as possible and hopefully finish the development of next gen City by end of early next year. By 2017, We will have whole new range of c segment sedans in the market including the next gen verna, Vento, may be a Toyota Vios, Ford Fiesta and what not.

Honda, please pull up your socks!

[balajisv]

Indigo, Manza and Indica, Vista down by a huge 62% and 46% respectively.

Is it a clear indication of taxi market looking at other options such as XCent, Etios, Ritz, Aspire etc or was the drop due to production adjustment to make way for Tiago?

[Doge]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

So after so many years again, Honda City has been dethroned from the segment leader ladder. And this time, it's Ciaz making way all ahead.

In my opinion, Ciaz well deserved to grab number one position after all this hard work. Completely agree that Ciaz is not a street looker like the Honda City, nor it is the fastest of the lot, nor it has the brilliant petrol engine that the Honda City offers; but what it has sheer value for money proposition, a fuel efficient diesel engine with hybrid tech exempted from odd-even rule, strong marketing by Maruti, good offers by their dealers, way cheaper than a Honda City diesel makes it to the number one position.

Honda City dethroned? May be its time for Honda to bring in the face lifted City as soon as possible and hopefully finish the development of next gen City by end of early next year. By 2017, We will have whole new range of c segment sedans in the market including the next gen verna, Vento, may be a Toyota Vios, Ford Fiesta and what not.

Honda, please pull up your socks!

We've unfortunately got two city's, one a 2012 Ivtec and the other a newer diesel( a company car). I will compare these two(ciaz and city) based on my experiences of the newer one. I think that the Ciaz is a much better car for the money. Firstly, i think that the Ciaz is the best looking car in its segment, the City has an immature side profile,bubbly rear which seems to be a bad imitation of a beemer and a gaudy looking front. Aesthetics wise,the pre facelifted third gen was the best IMO.
Let's get to the engines now, when it comes to the diesel, the City is simply crap. Engine seems to be a push rod from a tractor judging by the noise and refinement. City is a bit faster on paper but the multijet feels more fun to drive. The hybrid tech on the Ciaz is a gimmick though.
The petrol of the Ivtec is without a doubt better but gone are the days when Honda had the best petrol engine. The Tsi and the Ecoboost are in a different league, the 1.5 ivtec neither has the low end nor the performance. Tjet would blow the socks of it. New city simply has way too many pannel gaps, thin paint and feels like it will fall apart any given moment.
The Ciaz although very tinny, feels like it isn't being assembled by apes on lsd.
And lastly, ever since Honda has become a proper mass market player, their service has become crap. Changed 3 dealers since the last four years and still unsatisfied. Maintenance isn't as cheap as you'd think, parts are expensive and body pannels are even more, sad since you'd be changing often them thanks to sheet metal that's thinner than the foil packing of your last chocolate.
The ownership experience of the City has been very disappointing to say the least.
I wonder if Honda was ever that good? It surely is going down after checking out what a joke of a car the BrioRV was.
Good riddance.

[dark.knight]

Instead of reviewing the car sales, let me look at the buyer preferences of the country instead. We all should know by now that mass is the new class and nothing makes it truer than looking at how the Indian buyers think. This is a land where the best may not often make it, instead brands that tug away at the hearts of the people for whatever random reason shall forever enjoy their loyalty and patronage no matter what products are being dished out.

Car buyers in this country total about 2 lakhs per month, a little more than double the total BHPian count. Suffice to say that none of our opinions matter in the end, what does is the ability of a company to understand the true needs of buyers of this land. Buyers look for maximum elbow space, legroom & storage room, buyers want a car with good fuel economy and minimum maintenance costs and most important of all.. they want a brand that they are attached to, or can relate to. Indian buyers are one of the least adventurous type, chances are they shall not veer from the previously owned brand unless their experiences are beyond terrible and ends up costing them money.

Maruti - has the most number of sales points as pointed out by a fellow BHPian above, more that twice the 2nd largest. They have penetrated the market like no company before it and hence they have the biggest advantage not only of being everywhere but also being a sentimental favourite for the buyers. Credit where due to them for also keeping the sales on the swing with populist models like Baleno & Brezza apart from the usual favourites like Alto & Swift.

Hyundai - has the same advantage, albeit to a much lesser degree. From the days of the Santro & 1st Gen Tucson to now with the Elite i20, Creta & Grand i10, Hyundai has time and again proven that they are not afraid to experiment and if necessary bring in competition-crushing models to prove a point. The fan-base of Hyundai from what I've seen is about 40% in the south and 60% everywhere else (no scientific backing for this statement other than what I've seen in Bangalore & visits to Chennai, Mumbai, Pune & Delhi). This could be because Hyundai appeals to those who want the best of space, comfort and reliability, i.e the non-adventurous qualities. Mumbai is more of a Honda "city" and Delhiites with the Mahindras and Toyotas seek power and presence. I'm not saying that there are no other brands in all of the cities mentioned above.. there are all the brands but those few ones stand out. Pune is quite a bit like Bangalore though a smaller market.. all brands are bought almost equally.

Fiat - If anyone had the right to a first-mover advantage it was Fiat. We owned a 2nd hand Premier in the mid-90's and even as a kid I remembered it as spacious, comfortable and well put together. The Uno was a product well ahead of time and the Petra & Palio set new standards each time. Yet each of those models dropped like an anvil on freefall. Fiat could never get their service support act together and with each new product their way of operating became older. The Abarth is a good car but a hot-hatch was never going to set the sales charts on fire, a hot-hatch with stickers and highly contrasting colour schemes reduces that market by that much more. Between late moves, wrong strategies & engine sales I guess Fiat never had much of a chance to retain the loyalty of customers. The Indian consumer never forgets that they were short-changed and once they feel that then looking back is difficult however much brilliant the product may be. Any reasonably experienced driver should drive the Swift and Punto back-to-back and inspect them from behind the drivers seat and from a technical standpoint. He/she would find it difficult to explain why one sold 2 million in India and the other perhaps about 30-40 thousand. Based purely on driving experience, the gap should not be this large.

Honda - The City has changed more shapes than silly-putty, starting from the 3rd Gen in India which was loved by modders and enthusiasts, to the 4th Gen which was possibly the weirdest design in any car ever, and on to the arrow-head/BMW tail shaped 5th and 6th gens which have been a favourite for the upper-middle sections of society. The City became the - 'yes I've arrived!' car of the people and it still remains so despite strong competition.

Mahindra - They massage the ego of the SUV/MUV loving population of India. That combined with their utilitarian vehicles like Bolero & Mahindra pick-up, there's little doubt why they're usually at 3rd/4th position. A section of society likes big tyres, high seating & presence (even if illusory) hence even models like KUV have become a runaway success. The TUV, XUV and Rexton round off the entry, mid & luxury SUV segments. Who knew that categories have categories themselves.

G.M - They pulled a Fiat in India by introducing Opel Astra/Corsa, then not creating infrastructure around it, doing the same post the Daewoo acquisition and also withdrawing Chevy models like Optra, Aveo & U-Va. Enough time spent in the country and not nearly enough customer/product support. That won't be forgotten either.

Nissan - Well on the track of becoming the train-wreck of the current century, poor service network and support is the reason yet again.

Ford - Good products that never sold (Escort, Fiesta 1st Gen, Figo 1st Gen) and average products that are struggling for good reason (Figo 2nd Gen, Aspire) and a good product that sold but is in danger of soon being wiped out by a certain model from a Japanese company (EcoSport). That about summarises it. Ford in general never had what it took to impress the Indians, the Figo 1st Gen suffered from styling & equipment issues (pink dashboard, no rear power windows, really?) as also did the 2nd gen Fiesta. If they nailed the driving aspect, the space was missing (EcoSport/2nd gen Fiesta) and now with the space aspect reasonably solved (Aspire) the tactility/haptics/heaviness is lacking if not completely absent.

Toyota - Personally I'd say they're about as reliable as Honda or Hyundai, nothing more but because they've been chanting the quality mantra for decades now the perception has been set right in. The Corolla is a household name as far as cars go and the Innova & Etios give the urban-joint-family exactly what they want, the space, the brand name and peace of mind. They may not be anywhere near the top but I think they are exactly where they want to be now as far as India goes.

[avdhesh15]

You are surely a hater of MS with your below comments. I would just say to summarize that day in and day out, if MS were building boring and crappy cars along with pathetic reliability and after sales, they wouldn't be selling double of everyone else combined - regardless of their reach. Our entire forum wouldn't even be a minority of Maruti customers. So you shouldn't comment on our "mango" people. End of the day, sales / profits / customer satisfaction is what matters.

Rant continues because I personally found your post quite offensive to the 100k+ "mango people" who buy MS products every month... month after month!

1. Datsun: let's assume the product is better. Would you buy it if you live away from the city?

2. Ford: they've messed up themselves and so have to spend 200cr in realignment of the brand!

3. Hyundai: I don't agree - the xcent hasn't been able to do jack against the Dzire.

4. Maruti:
A. Lame face lift: ask VW and others who have a face lift every week.
B. Baleno: excluding the i20 active, elite i20 sold around 8600 units. So Baleno is at number 1 this month.
C. Snob value: no comments. Esp when compared to a Hyundai!
D. Ciaz: you said it yourself. They made a car doing well in all departments if not best in all. Peace of mind - shaanti!
E. Dzire: what's a better no nonsense car?
F. People using brains: I mean cmon now - this is just offensive!!! Are you saying thousands of people are brainless and you are the only brainy fellow for not liking this car?
G. Brezza: how can price difference without knowing the cost or profit justify it being called a winner? If you have these figures for both the cars then please do share.

5. Tata: enough said already!

Originally Posted by YashD

Datsun

Definitely a much better product than the MS Alto 800 overall.

Ford

This is utterly disappointing to see both the Figo twins are failing so miserably in our market. Both are such capable products and our mango people are still going on for the age old Maruti Suzuki Swifts and Dzires!! God Bless the Indian consumers and then they cry for the lack of options manufacturers provides these days.

Hyundai

Finally a better alternative than the age old Dzire Tours!

Maruti Suzuki

I got so excited to see the dip in Alto's sales but it's back to around 20,000 units again thanks to the lame so called facelift the car has received. The Baleno has secured the second spot in the game and is following the Elite closely, will it be able to beat it? I don't think so! Even after being a capable product, I feel Elite is superior to Baleno due to it's better interiors, overall brand value (Snob value, a MS will always remain a MS No offense) and the better design though that's subjective. The Ciaz is doing extremely good for itself and well as I said earlier it's bound to do that! It's a perfect recipe of what an Indian family wants. I am clearly not understanding how is MS able to sell so many Dzires? People wake up! We have much better options available in the market, start using your brains and opt for other vehicles instead of spending your money on this. The Vitara Brezza has finally taken the first stop but then again I feel Hyundai Creta is the clear winner here due to the vast price difference both the vehicle has, the Brezza is ZDi+ is cheaper than Creta Top end by a whole 6 Lakhs.

Tata

thanks to the boring Dzire, another capable product doing 1500 units only.

[tibby]

General Query - Are the sales numbers primary (Manufacturer to Dealer) in nature or secondary (dealer to consumer)?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

B. Baleno: excluding the i20 active, elite i20 sold around 8600 units. So Baleno is at number 1 this month.

Did not notice this anywhere. Thanks for the breakup. Any source of this information?

That said, i20 Active is by far the most popular crossover hatchback going by the above numbers. Probably selling more than Etios Cross, Polo Cross and the other competitors - combined.

Originally Posted by tibby

General Query - Are the sales numbers primary (Manufacturer to Dealer) in nature or secondary (dealer to consumer)?

Factory dispatches.

[RaghuVis]

Thanks for yet another well detailed report. Rated it a well deserved 5 stars!
My 2 cents.

Renault
Very surprising results from Renault with respect to KWID. There are many who say the reduction in sales is due to shut-down. I am very surprised how they ended up selling more Lodgy/Pulse/Scala than previous month if there was a shut-down. If it is really due to maintenance shut-down, then renault once again proves they are not doing their job properly. They should have give at-most importance to KWID and made sure the numbers does not go this bad. Lets see how MSIL manages the shut-down next month.

Innova
I am remembering a famous quote "Loyalty is like Love. Anybody can say they have it but only the REAL live it and show it"
For a car which sells only in Diesel, with on-road close to 20L, and withstand the Ban in DELHI and still clock in 7K! This from a manufacturer who is not doing so well in any other segment. In my opinion if this is not the best news of the month then I am not sure what else is!

Maruti
I can understand why so many are against MSIL and want it to fail or lose its shine. This is exactly what most people felt against Manchester United when they were unbeatable in EPL or how everyone always wanted Australia to lose the world cup.
To say that they sell more simply because they have more dealers is the most silly statement. Everyone complains that they as a segment leader should come out with more safety features and pave the way. Easy to say although they are trying to do something in that regard. Everyone is out there doing business. No one is doing any favour to anyone by buying a MSIL car. There are 96 cars selling in India every month. Assuming 6 of them are doing no sales, that puts the number at 90. Out of 90 cars, If MSIL is able to sell 11 of their 14 cars in the top 20, That is just envious and is prone to jealousy!

I firmly believe manufacturers build car according to what the people ask for and not the other way around. If you really want to point fingers at MSIL, remember there are 3 fingers poining at you now!