Management Punditz: Indian Car Sales Figures

November 2012 Sales Figures - Pan India

HIGHLIGHTS:

· 1) November turned out to be a cracker of month for 2 M’s – Maruti & Mahindra. Diwali celebrations was not very apparent in the offtake figures for November for other OEMs. With the year-end falling in the dealers were obviously apprehensive in stocking vehicles. However November proved to be a good month for Petrol specific models (namely Alto, i10, Eon). The month also witnessed the launch of the newest member of Chevrolet family – Sail UVA. Even the top-end SUV Rexton was launched in markets such as Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad & Chandigarh from M&M’s stable.

· 2) Swift sisters have undoubtedly been the flag bearers for Maruti. It is one amongst the few brands to cross Oct’12 offtake (Nov Swift+Dzire – 30837 units v/s Oct – 29822 units). Alto 800 have bought the much required numbers to Maruti and thus help retain its leadership; i.e. Alto numbers – 23550 vis-à-vis Tata all models combined – 21119 units, Toyota – 12281 units, Chevrolet – 6746 units, Ford – 7577 units, and list involves all OEMs except Maruti and M&M. In which other part of the world would we be able to see such kind of dominance!

· 3) Alto has kindled the trendsetter (what Hyundai terms its Eon). With an aggressive and dynamic promotional campaign, Eon registered its highest billing numbers for last 6 months in Nov’12 (8449 nos.)! Never in past 6 months, i10 has sold over a 1000 units more than i20. With a near 10k mark (9782 units) i10 figures bring smile to the Korean automaker. Although with a month-on-month degrowth Verna & Elantra prove to the segment leaders. The feature rich fluidic designs play a vital role yet again to establish Hyundai into the premium segment. So, has Elantra truly been a signature of success? The mentioned graph is self-explanatory:

· 4) Mahindra is the Maruti of the UV space – this statement turns out true again with M&M strategically placing products in all price-range. With the entry-level gap being filled by Quanto, the premium SUV territory is now embarked with Rexton. The strong product portfolio has made the ‘UV’maker the unshakable no.3 player in the Indian Automotive space.

· 5) Bolero crosses 10k figures yet again. Scorpio & XUV record a similar 4.2k figures. Quanto now seems to be stabilizing at 2.2k to 2.5k mark. With over 12,000 bookings, we expect the numbers to go higher. But the OEMs intention to increase the capacity levels for Quanto is not clear as of now. The figures for Xylo & Verito has been in a ‘reality-check’ mode and hence the lack-luster offtake (1756 & 1235 units respectively).

· 6) Tata seems to have lost it completely. The focus for the automaker does not seem clear with its entry level Nano and its SUV/MUV range. Heavy discounting on its models have a taken a toll on its brands and Tata’s need to re-work on their strategy on war footing. The Indica & Indigo family haven’t gained much with the new ev2 or the club class. Even with the new Storme launched, the Safari numbers remain stagnant at near 1k figure (1052 units).

· 7) The Duster has proved to be the Alastair Cook for Renault. Duster alone is contributing to ~80 percent sale of Renault. The brand has set new records and is currently the largest selling SUV and 13^th best selling passenger car in India!!! The real

· 8) Toyota saw tremendous dip (by 26%) in its sales. The OEM attributed the plant shutdown for its lackluster performance.

· 10) With 133 units for Fabia – it has been the worst offtake for the brand till date. Post Rapid launch, Skoda’s focus on Fabia has decelerated and thus the outcome. Even Rapid fails to achieve numbers as per its potential due to the step-motherly treatment to the brand (promotions majorly shifted to Vento!)

· 11) VW’s unique promotions and discounts allows the automaker to continue sale momentum for Polo & Vento. The brands were able to match their October offtake figures.

· 12) Was it the right time to launch Sail-UVA? This should be the thought of General Motors after seeing the dip in Beat numbers. Although the Sail-UVA being launched in the much-hyped Swift/i20 category, the brand hasn’t been able to bring the expected amount of pull.

13) Honda has over times emerged to be one of the most honky-donky performer - with a fluctuation greater than share prices, the sales of Honda is extremely difficult to monitor. Ex: Honda City which had done 3976 numbers falls to 1218 units within a month! Similar is the case for Brio - from 3700 units to 2199 units.

· However, December 2012 is ready with a bang to fill excitement in the market with mouth watering offers –

1. General Motors