Sunday, April 27, 2014

Indian Automobile Export Performance - FY13-14

Car exports from India remained flat during the fiscal year 2013-14. Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki, two of the biggest car exporters, posted a decline in shipments, while overseas sales by Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen increased. 
Top 10 Car Exporters - India
Maruti Suzuki lost its coveted second slot in the lucrative car exports, 10 years after it ceded the crown to South Korean, Hyundai Motors as it grapples with intensified competition in overseas markets.
Source : ET

In the new pecking order, Nissan Motors India has moved ahead of Maruti in terms of export numbers as its current models Mirca and the Sunny sedan outsell Maruti's list of top seller like A-Star, Alto and DZire.Nissan India increased its export increased its export numbers by shipping 18% additional cars in the last financial year to take its tally to 1.16 lakh units, while Maruti Suzuki lost 16% in overseas sales to end the fiscal at 1.01 lakh cars sent out of India. 


Two-wheeler exports from India grew 6.52 percent to 20,83,938 units in 2013-14 from 19,56,378 units in 2012-13. 
Motorcycle exports rose 6.48 percent to 19,82,755 units, while scooter shipments were up 3.15 percent to 93,931 units. Bajaj Auto exported 13,23,173 motorcycles, an increase of 2.32 percent, while Hero MotoCorp's overseas sales declined 17.05 percent to 1,13,238 units in 2013-14. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) exported 1,11,710 units, up 7.65 percent from the previous financial year. Yamaha's exports stood at 1,93,129 units, up 45.8 percent.
In the scooter segment, HMSI exported 51,932 units, up 20.85 percent, while Hero MotoCorp's exports declined 28.55 percent to 17,525 units. TVS dispatched 18,693 units to foreign locations an increase of 7.62 percent. 
Two Wheeler Export Numbers
Three-wheeler exports remained healthy and TVS was the biggest gainer in the previous fiscal with 103% YoY growth. Bajaj still remains miles ahead of competition and posts over 2.6 lakh export units in FY. M&M becomes the only OEM with a negative YoY growth.
Three Wheeler Export Numbers
Commercial Vehicle Industry also experiences a negative growth and the industry sees no respite in exports as well. 
Commercial Vehicle Export Figures
In a year where the entire auto industry was reeling to build numbers in the domestic market, the huge production capacity of the OEM's could only be utilized in building up export volumes. While Nissan, Ford, VW, Renault and othe passenger car makers identified the opportunity - other OEMs as well are jumping in the bandwagon to make India their export hub and start shipping their products to other countries. No wonder Hyundai ships to over 140 countries from India and rakes up on its overall profitability. Bajaj is also the most profitable 2-wheeler manufacturer! - with the export volumes it currently has, the OEM has surely paved way for other biggies to explore the potential. 
FY 2014-15 will be a crucial year with majority of the OEMs giving equal focus to exports when compared to domestic sales and the competition would shift to the next level!

Source 1
Source 2

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Indian 2 wheeler Industry Performance - March 2014

The month of March is always met with a spur of activity in the market place primarily because of the financial year ending. Manufacturers and dealers throw open deals to make every purchase sweeter for the end consumer. It was indeed a great year ending for the Indian 2 wheeler industry, clocking a growth of 7.4% over Feb 2014 and a whopping 12% over March 2013. This indeed is a positive sign for the auto industry when the country is gripped in political drama! Let's have a look at the OEM and brand wise performers:

Hero Moto Corp: Hero proves again why it is the largest 2 Wheeler manufacturer by clocking a 12% growth YoY and contributing to the overall industry growth. There is a lot of buzz in the Hero camp with a slew of products lined up this fiscal year primarily in the Commuter and Sports segment. This should help Hero maintain its leadership position and sustain volumes greater than 5 lakh units consistently. 82% of the volumes came from Motorcycles which contribute only to 11% of growth whereas the scooters grew by 22.1%.  

   


1.       Bajaj Auto: The Chakan based manufacturer is clearly struggling in a bullish 2 wheeler market. With hardly 1% growth YoY, is not great going in the Bajaj camp. They have cluttered the market with various offerings in the Sports-commuter segment (125CC) and the commuter segment. They are stretching the Discover brand name and with a lot of offerings under the same umbrella, the consumer is confused rather than excited. It seems, their flanking strategy is not working. Bajaj has plans to give a minor facelift to the Pulsar in terms of new dual tone colour options for the range. They have already done it for the 200NS which was launched with a lot of ambition but is losing steam. Pulsar has been flat and discover which is the major volume driver is still losing out to shine big time. This is highlighted by the drop in MS in Executive segment by 4% for BAL.


         HMSI: Honda is on a roll and they continue to grow on their strong hold in the scooter segment. They are very close to hitting the TWO LAKH mark in scooter sales which is a phenomenal achievement. Along with this they have a share of 58% of the scooter market! In sometime down the line HMSI is all set to threaten the “Hero” of 2 wheelers. With the Launch of the Activa-i, the 125CC scooter, HMSI is all set to increase its foothold in the scooter segment. However HMSI is facing trouble in the Premium segment with the CBR twins and Unicorn losing steam because of KTMs stronghold. But with HMSI all set to bring in a few more bikes courtesy its Japanese mother company, the competition is set to heat up.

1.       TVS Motors: The Chennai based company seems to be focusing on motorcycles more than Scooters. However it has tasted success with the Jupiter in the market which was fought by the Scooty and Wego alone. Overall they have grown by 15.8% YoY which is a very positive sign for the company. However the major cause of concern is that TVS is doing nothing about the Apache which is fighting a losing battle in the Premium segment. With competition heating up. TVS better do something quick! However TVS volumes are still coming from the 2 wheels that drives the nation- MOPEDS. They are the only company selling it but almost 50% of the volumes come from this segment.

  



1.       Yamaha: A company known to build one of the World’s best motorcycles is ironically riding high on the success of the scooters that hit the market. The Alpha and the Ray have contributed to 28.7% growth YoY! Not surprisingly 40% of Yamaha’s sales have come from the Alpha. The FZ continues to be the Lord of the streets and is challenging the dominance of Pulsar month on month. With the Quarter litre bike(R25) from Yamaha teasing the media and the upgrades for the FZ and the R15, the Indian consumer, am sure is waiting for Yamaha’s next move to make a purchase decision!
      

      Suzuki: Suzuki has been struggling in India and yet they have managed to clock 28,475 units. 70% of these numbers being clocked by a single scooter called Access is a sign that Suzuki needs to do something real quick before the other entrants catch on! However the launch of Inazuma is a part of a turn around story for Suzuki. These guys have some of the World’s best motorcycles and they have the ability to bring them to India.

2.       Mahindra & Mahindra: M&M breathed new life into the Executive segment with the Centuro that showcased that the consumer can get some never before seen premium features without paying a bomb for it! Kudos to that. M&M have managed to do good numbers primarily because of this as the Scooter segment has crashed badly (49.6% de-growth).

3.       Royal Enfield: Since these guys focus on a niche market I have not included them in the brand wise figures. However the company managed to sell 23,170 bikes last month posting a healthy 90.9% growth. 

(     (Author's Profile:  Manu Sasidharan. Am a hardcore petrol head, an auto enthusiast and an amateur designer. I have been in close touch with the industry for a long time and am abreast with the action in the automotive sphere. Driving is my passion and combined with a love for travelling makes me a nomad by nature. On the education front, I have done my Engg in Electical and Electronics from Cochin university and my Management studies from Symbiosis Pune.)

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Indian Car Sales Figures - March 2014

March 2014 Sales Figures - Pan India
Highlights:
Source : Autocar
  • Cars that made an impact in Mar'14
    • Datsun GO: 2068 offtake in the first month of the launch. With high-impact ads the hatchback is getting the right attention. Will it embark the comeback of Datsun? Only time will tell.
    • Maruti Celerio: Is it an AMT revolution? The initial numbers are positive and has surely caught the attention of Indian buyers on cost effective Automatic Transmission. Find here an interesting insight -
Source : ET
    • Honda City: The response for the sedan has been hands down stupendous. The long wait for the Japanese major has turned be extremely fruitful and currently seems unstoppable. 9,518 units offtake in one month is just AWESOME!
    • Nissan Terrano: Has given significant boost to Nissan - however the gap still persists in comparison to Duster. Wholesale of 3075 units in Mar'14 has been encouraging.
    • Mahindra XUV500: Time and again the carline has made headlines - for the right reasons in Mar'14. 3525 units signifies the potential still available with the brand.
    • Mahindra Scorpio: India's best selling SUV is not an easy tag in today's scenario and Scorpio has earned it quite respectably. M&M sold over 50,900 units of Scorpio in FY14 which is more than the French carmakers Duster (46,700) & Ford's Ecosport (45,000).
Source: ET
    • Hyundai Xcent: Seeing the huge response Grand i10 garnered in the market and with the aggressive pricing - Hyundai has surely launched a winner! Not sure on how it would affect Amaze / Dzire, but the segment is surely gonna grow leaps and bounds.
We have the Tata's Zest & Bolt in the pipeline. Also we expect positive outlook from the General Elections. It is now that the Automotive Industry should start the growth and we expect that to happen gradually - April still is a concerning month for the industry. 
 
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