[psinghal]

Sad about the Linea. Had a chance to interact with senior management when I bought mine, couple of points stood out:
a) They are very frustrated with TATA
b) They are trying hard to increase sales. Some big consultancy (Accenture of Mckinsey) is tracking sales conversion at every dealership.
c) Diesel engines sales are through the roof and they cannot cope with the demand
d) They cannot modify the car without approval from Italy. Hence the power to weight ratio cannot change.
e) Each car sells at a loss.

I do think it is bye bye Fiat for again. Once MSIL starts manufacturing its own diesel engines, Fiat India would be in deep trouble.

Originally Posted by bkbkr1212

I have a very basic question here Sir. Sorry for being naive on this
Are the figures reported per month the dispatches from manufacturer to dealers?
Do manufacturers send exactly the same number dealers asks for? I know it directly translates to booking of the vehicles.

So from these figures reported every month the best we can get is the stock at dealer's yard.
There could be cancellations after manufacturer has dispatched them, right?
Is there no way car maker can know about the number of cars that have been registered/handed over keys to end customer?

These are sales from companies to dealers. These cannot be actual sales as this would include stocks for new dealers, additional stock in anticipation of a sales promotion etc.

Almost all car companies have online reporting from the dealerships and hence know exactly what is selling and to whom.

[NetfreakBombay]

Yes these numbers are deliveries to dealers. I don't think SIAM releases data for cars sold to end users.

Auto companies do have this data in their CRM systems, but it is not released to public.

[bkbkr1212]

Originally Posted by psinghal

These are sales from companies to dealers. These cannot be actual sales as this would include stocks for new dealers, additional stock in anticipation of a sales promotion etc.

Almost all car companies have online reporting from the dealerships and hence know exactly what is selling and to whom.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Yes these numbers are deliveries to dealers. I don't think SIAM releases data for cars sold to end users.

Auto companies do have this data in their CRM systems, but it is not released to public.

Thanks @psinghal and @NetFreakBombay.
Then why were people going ga-ga over SX4 numbers? Dealers would have bought quite a few anticipating good response from customers.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by bkbkr1212

Are the figures reported per month the dispatches from manufacturer to dealers? Do manufacturers send exactly the same number dealers asks for? I know it directly translates to booking of the vehicles.?

Yes, the figures are dealer dispatches as GTO has clarified earlier. I would think that dealers would pay for the numbers they want and that is what manufacturers would despatch. Ofcourse some of these would also be TD cars.

Originally Posted by bkbkr1212

There could be cancellations after manufacturer has dispatched them, right?

There would be cancellations. But why do you think this matters ? Eg. if all dealers asked for 3500 SX4s in Feb-11 that would be the figures for Feb. Now assume there are 350 cancellations that did not convert to delivery. Dealers would adjust these in their order for March and thus order 3500-350=3150 for March. So next month we would see a decrease in sales figures. Basically the figures would balance every month based on demand.

Originally Posted by bkbkr1212

Then why were people going ga-ga over SX4 numbers?

Not sure who was ga-ga, but if at all I would think the reason is that for the 1st time in years we are seeing ANHC having some serious competition from the SX4 (and the Vento too). This would ultimately be in our (consumer's) benefit, since it will force Honda to relook the value it delivers for the ANHC for the price it commands.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by prabhpreet

Bolero : 7161

Where do they go???

Mahindra has a stranglehold as far as market share is concerned in Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.
In Orissa & Bihar, only Bolero's sell. Tata has a tough time in these states. There are hardly any takers for the Sumo family

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I have no idea about i10 prices vis-a-vis equivalent petrol Swift/Ritz. But from what I read on the forum and the price range you mention, I seem to get the idea that they are already priced high. If so, would they be able to price the diesel-i10 competitively against the Swift/Ritz (especially against the LDi/VDis which sell the most) ?

I surely think they can. Do remember that the upper-end variants (Rs 6 lakh) are the Asta or AT versions, which are bound to be priced high. What I am suggesting is that the I10 can easily sell diesel variants at about Rs 80000 higher than their petrol variants. For example, the I10 Magna petrol is about Rs 4.4 Lakh (on road) and the diesel Magna could easily be priced at about Rs 5.2 Lakh (on Road). This price would well be within the range of the Swift/Ritz LDI. The I10 Sportz diesel option could easily have been pitted against the Swift/RitzVDI. With the I10 AT already popular among the AT customers, imagine then the potentials of an I10 diesel AT.

Feature for feature, the I10 Magna has far more frills and fitments than the Ritz LXI, which is priced along side each other.

[himavanth_m]

Volvo is selling really low numbers. Is Volvo doing something to make their presence felt in India apart from advertising in Auto Magazines?

I do not think Volvo can last in the Indian market if they continue to sell in such meager numbers. Moreover, I do not think anyone would be interested in investing for setting up volvo showrooms as well.

I am curious on how they deal with the situation. It has been quite long since their entry into Indian market (Passenger vehicles) and it is high time that they do something about their dipping sales. Bringing new models into the market is not enough to increase the sales. What is the point of bringing new models when they sell 1 or 2 units per month?

[misquitas]

By the way, what has happened to the Rhino SUV and ICML? Over here in Goa, the dealership at Agacaim seems to have switched over to Force Motors. Perhaps, the dismal sales must have prompted the dealer to switch 'force' to other 'motors'. However, the ICML website still features Kamat Automobiles Pvt Ltd (Agacaim) as the Rhino dealer.

[manolin]

What fiat needs to do is create a new brand. They have lots under their umbrella- maserati, alfa. Use one, like GM does with Chevrolet. Launch it big and create separate dealers for them.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

Volvo is selling really low numbers. Is Volvo doing something to make their presence felt in India apart from advertising in Auto Magazines?

I do not think Volvo can last in the Indian market if they continue to sell in such meager numbers. Moreover, I do not think anyone would be interested in investing for setting up volvo showrooms as well.

?

You need sales volume to justify investing in a dealership which will assure consumers to walk in to buy and add to volme...a vicious circle. Dealers would rather invest in a VW, Maruti, Nissan where volume is assured.

Only way volvo can survive is to give generous credit, help reduce set up costs, allow multifranchised showrooms

[GTO]

*Update*

Audi added to the opening post:

Audi
A4 : 118
A6 : 175
A8 : 31
Q5 : 70
Q7 : 53
R8 : 3

[S350L-E240]

New A8 is doing good, and the A6 @ 175 should be the best month ever for the car? I guess heavy discounts on it?

And going through the Mercedes-Benz sales, why no S class? were they not sold at all? How is that possible? any major change coming up in terms of added features etc or just a shortage of kits? but still no S class at all makes me scratch my heads.

Regards,

[teamveevee]

Does it mean March nos wont be as good as Feb, as dealer delivery was done in Feb itself?
Carmakers doling out best discounts this March - The Economic Times

Carmakers, including market leaders Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda, are now offering even better discounts and incentives than in December to get rid of huge inventories at dealerships.

Maruti Suzuki is giving up to 40,000 discount, while Hyundai is offering up to 45,000 and Honda up to 55,000 rebate, say dealers.

Most of the Maruti models have a waiting period, at same same time, offering discounts for inventory? Am i missing some thing?

[NetfreakBombay]

Got an SMS from Maruti dealer that Alto now comes with Free Sony Bravia LCD. Strange that they have to push Alto.

[bkbkr1212]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Does it mean March nos wont be as good as Feb, as dealer delivery was done in Feb itself?
Carmakers doling out best discounts this March - The Economic Times
Most of the Maruti models have a waiting period, at same same time, offering discounts for inventory? Am i missing some thing?

From April onwards prices are going to be high for almost all cars. Honda has already announced it for all except Accord.

By giving hefty discounts,they want to sell of maximum cars in March. Can't think of any other reason.