Indian Car Sales Figures - September 2013

September 2013 Sales Figures - Pan India

Highlights –

·         September had Lord Ganesha's blessing bestowing on the Indian Auto Industry (quite literally!). While it sparked signs of improvement, a lot is left to be desired for completely boosting the market sentiment. The offtake figures for September also signify the dealers readiness for the big festive month (Durga Puja / Dusshera / Navratri). The 'Shrraadh' period would also end in beginning of October and sales can fly off. October 2013 is surely gonna be a crucial month for the industry to sustain and grow over September. Maa Durga's kindness grace is required as well in Oct :)

source: moneylife.in

·         The biggest gainers in September were - Honda & Ford again . Kudos to these OEMs for taking the suggestion passed in Aug seriously -"sustainability can only be seen if they can have "MULTIPLE" hero products in the portfolio". Honda & Ford grew not only by Ecosport & Amaze volumes, but had other models contribute significantly as well (say Figo crossed 3.5k figure after 5 months, Fiesta classic crossed 700 nos after 6 months, City crossed 2k figure after 5 months!). 

·         Maruti Suzuki reported 51.5 percent growth in overall sales at 76,018 units as against 50,129 units in the same month last year. The ugly duckling gets revamped in August - i.e. the blue-eyed boy Wagon R has a makeover variant Stingray to support the brand. In overall Wagon

·         Its Grand Masti time for Hyundai! - the brand jumped to Numero 6 best selling car just within a month of its launch. Hyundai has done a wonderful job in able to assess the demand and manufacture over 8k Grand i10's withing a month! The brand also raked in more than 10k bookings in just 20 days! The craze of new cars is just not slowing down. An interesting statistics on how new launches were able to garner unbelievable fanfare and over the top demand -

source : HT

·         The i10 numbers were the biggest cause of concern for the Korean major. i10 figures fell ~50% in Sep v/s Aug 2013. As expected cannibalization did happen, though i20 was shielded from it. Verna's crossing 4k mark added to the brands consistent performance. 

·         Fortuner has been a brand that I've admired a lot since long - amazing to see how a over Rs. 25 Lakh brand can be so consistent in any market condition. I won't be surprised if it overtakes Liva nos someday (which costs 1/5th of a Fortuner!). Understanding India and its customers takes complexity to the next level :) Etios crosses the magical 3k figure after a longggg time. Innova is again successful in setting the benchmark high (its no easy to offtake 4650 Innova's when Ertiga could fare only 2657 nos!).

·         The rough ride eases for the Indian Auto majors - M&M and Tata in Sep when compared to Aug. Both the OEMs could post m-o-m growth but the y-o-y growth was still a disappointment (M&M degrew by over 20% and Tata by 41%). However, Bolero & Scorpio saves the day again for the no.1 UV manufacturer. Scorpio teaches a lesson or a two to the new entrant Duster - the 10 year old cult brand(Scorpio) easily outperforms the lone Renault performer.

·         Duster jumps to over 3.5k mark in Sep! - Kindly note that the Terrano shipments have still not started. Would be interesting to watch Duster's performance post Terrano's availability in the market. Fluence/Pulse/Scala does not give much to talk about. 

·         Honda continues to AMAZE us all. It has just expanded the compact sedan market - not to forget Dzire still continues its dominance in top 5 selling cars. And Amaze easily peeps into the 7th spot. 

 

In these tough times, a good month is what the industry requires - While most parts of the country would celebrate Dussehra Festival this October, lets hope the Industry STARTS delivering numbers and gives the boost for the coming festive season. 

A look at the top 20 cars of the month -