Indian Two Wheeler Sales - March 2012

Sales Comparison & YoY analysis of Indian 2 Wheeler Manufacturers  for Mar'12

Automobile sales in March 2012 ended on a high note with a few two wheeler OEMs hitting all-time high sales volumes. Hero Moto Corp achieved its highest volume of 528290 numbers in the month. It also crossed the 60 Lakh sales volume for the first time in its history in this financial year (F12). 


Although the demand has been considerably high throughout the year, a certain amount of moderation is seen in the sector. However, the highlights of the month were -
1> Hero MotoCorp's sales were up 2.41% YoY at 528,290 units
2> Segment-wise Bajaj sold 300,848 units of motorcycles in Mar'12, up 10 per cent from 274,392 sold in the corresponding period of last year. History created - Pulsar cumulative sales exceeded 5 million units since launch. 
3> Honda reported 49.68 per cent jump in its total sales for March at 2,20,487 units compared to 1,47,301 units in the same month of 2011.
          a) company reported an increase of 69.69 per cent in scooter sales to 1,38,134 units last month from  81,402 units a year ago during the same month
          b)  motorcycle sales went up by 24.97 per cent to 82,353 units as against 65,899 units in March'11.
4> Yamaha reported a 14 per cent increase in its total sales at 41,886 units in March 2012.
5>  TVS Motor's two-wheeler sales witnessed a 3.48 per cent decline at 1,80,274 units from 1,86,781 units in the same month last year.
6> Suzuki Motorcycle India reported a 28.50 per cent growth in March'12 sales at 35,158 units.


Domestic Sales Figure of these OEMs -

Source - ET

Honda overtakes Bajaj in domestic 2 wheeler sales and emerges as the second-largest player in the country's two-wheeler market. Not so long back, in November 2011 Honda had overtaken TVS as the third largest 2-wheeler OEM in terms of volumes. Honda has been very aggressive in its strategy since its separation from Hero. It has already in plans to launch the splendor-competitor - 110 cc 'Dream Yuga' into the market which the company expects will tremendously increase its penetration in motorcycles.

Companies like Suzuki also have aggressive plans under its kitty - it has already launched its 125cc scooter named Swish and has fierce plans to fight out Honda's Activa in the category. Suzuki has also charted out to bring its 125 cc Hayate and believes that the segment has a huge potential to be tapped.

A look on the best selling models in F12 -

 Amongst all this competition, Hero Moto Corp has been successful in maintaining its market share and thus emerge as a true - 'Hero'. It has already tied-up with Erik Buell Racing to improve its technology and has vigorous investment plans to increase its R&D spend. It has even partnered with AVL for developing engines. With all this Hero Moto Corp hopes to hold its dominance in the Indian Market and effectively hinder competition's moves.

Let's view how the major 2 wheeler OEMs have fared in F12 and their respective market shares -

Bajaj is counting on increase in motorcycle sales for continuing its market stand. Its exit from scooter category is questionable and its weak presence in 100-125 cc has been Bajaj Auto's biggest pain point. But it is still confident with its dominance in executive/performance bikes segment. It recently launched KTM Duke 200 and Pulsar 200 NS to expand its product range in the category. With Duke coming in; it surely has a strong product in hand to compete against the R15's and the CBR's.   

Export Data - Indian Auto Industry, March 2012

India has slowly emerged as a hot favorite location for Auto Makers. Its central proximity along with cheap trained manpower makes it much lucrative. The local volumes itself speaks of the glory and currently it is just a tip of the iceberg. The volumes are bound to grow multiple folds in coming few years. This has made OEM's take the Indian ground seriously as part of their strategy. 


India has become important to the whole world and this is becoming like an export hub for specially small cars and components globally. Never before Auto  majors have launched cars specifically for Indian consumers but now they appear to be giving immense importance to Indian market. The export volumes for the last four years, too, suggest a strong correlation with domestic demand. In years, when the domestic market has been sluggish, auto makers have been aggressive on exports and vice versa.


A look on the export scenario for March 2012 -

The export volume of Hyundai & Ford speaks for itself - around 34% and 26% of overall volumes of Hyundai & Ford were exports!!! While it is clear that the Indian-origin OEMs were busy satisfying the domestic demand.
No wonder why Chennai is home to major Auto Makers. Its proximity to Ennore port makes it extremely viable to set up base there. To emphasize on the scale of exports currently happening through Chennai -

• 1. Toyota started the export of its Etios & Liva from April'12 with the first batch of 247 units shipped on April 4 from Ennore. Toyota aims to export 20000 cars this year.
• 2. Nissan India has exported 85,000 cars till date, manufactured at its Oragadam facility and posted a record export of 14,403 units in January 2012. The company is planning to increase the volume of exports in 2012 and targets car exports worth Rs. 500 crore approximately.
• 3. Exports volume was led by the local arms of global car makers such as Hyundai, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd and Ford Motor Co​., all of which have identified India as an export hub for small cars and have constantly shipped models from their factories in India

Export is now being looked as a strategic advantage for OEMs citing the volatility in the domestic demand. In the coming years I'm sure that the percentage of exports is bound to equal domestic volumes.

Indian Car Sales Figures - March 2012

March 2012 Sales Figures - Pan India

HIGHLIGHTS:

·       1) Pre-Budget hype along with achieving ‘year-end’ targets seems to have worked for OEM’s. Many auto companies even attained their best-ever figures for F12.

·         2) Maruti repeats its success – crosses 1 Lakh figure AGAIN! Although the growth was just marginal 2.1%. Alto crosses >35k figure after 12 long months.

·         3) The backlog for Swift remains unending. It is just impossible to imagine how a premium hatchback manages over 20k figure consistently (whereas GM with its combined portfolio sells 10563 nos, Ford 9026 nos., Honda 11016 nos., etc).

·         4) The shorter Dzire proves capable enough to cater to a longer audience! With just under 4 mtrs, it is one of the most acclaimed entry-level sedans in the country. No wonder it garners 16451 numbers offtake.

·         5) The best decision of GM for F12 was to launch Beat-diesel. The capable hatchback with the diesel heart has been the savior for the OEM. Another winner in its portfolio is the ‘Diesel Rocket’. The incredibly stylish and powerful car was successful to influence 722 nos ‘CRUZE’ing away to their showrooms.

·         6) Wondered which is the new Mitsubishi Ad wandering around in the TV channels. March saw some movement and buzz with Mitsubishi – their launch of Pajero Sport and Outlander (7str). Pajero Sport clocks 206 nos in its first month!

·         7) Brio??? It sure loves its OEM back. After a huge shortfall in production, it bounces back with 6355 nos. A diesel engine on this baby could work wonders for Honda. Hope they hear it soon.

·         8) An SUV/MUV crossing 10k mark used to be a distant dream… Now, it isn’t. The ‘Take on Anything’ attitude of Bolero has enabled it to do a ‘Break Free’ 10078 numbers!!! And with this it achieves the dream-figure of over 1Lakh offtake in F12. BOW DOWN for the Leader. 

·         9) GM silently slips in its BS4 compliant Tavero NEO3. Competitors beware. We all know what this silent value-for-money machine is capable of. Acceptance of its Rover engine is a crucial test for the MPV.

·         10) Tata is giving sleepless nights to Hyundai with the fear of dethroning it from the SECOND spot. It has been aggressive in all fronts to promote its range. Be it reviving Mr. Ratan Tata’s dream Nano or revamping Indica range, they are trying everything possible in the book (Ex: Get a NANO with a downpayment of Rs. 15k!!! And exchange bonus of Rs.20k on a 2-wheeler J ).

·         11) Nissan Sunny – 4151 nos, Nissan Micra – 1674 nos. I’m not kidding, if this would’ve been told to me 1 year back I’d have totally written it off. Just imagine how ‘VALUE-CONSCIOUS’ the Indian consumer is!

·         12) The NEW fluidic Sonata makes its entry with 92 nos. Its radical design and premium outlook seems positive. Although Hyundai has never been successful in its ‘premium’ ventures; tracking Sonata’s run would be interesting.

·         13) XUV 500 with 3196 figures stands tall among its competition. Analysts remain awestruck with the volumes this beast manages to gain.

·         14) With the increased ‘cost of acquisition’ lurking around; it is exciting to see how the customers react to it. April’12 will be a real test for the industry.

Source: LiveMint

      A list of the top 20 brands of the month - 

Investomania - List of investments planned in India by Auto OEM's

India has proven to be a frugal hub for Automobile OEM's due to its location and skill advantage. India is a now a part of the global strategy for these OEM's; every company is planning to set up their manufacturing base in the country and are also exploiting its option as an export hub. Indian Auto Industry stands second in Two Wheeler sales, third in Small Cars sales & fifth in Commercial Vehicle Sales. These figures are bound to move towards the numero uno position in the coming years. No doubt India is now the Investment Hot Spot for these Auto Majors. PSA Peugeot Citroen has even made its second entry after leaving its operations in the 90's. Almost all cos. are planning to double their production capacities with the intention to stay competitive in lieu of increasing demand. But at the same time volatile market conditions & unstable government policies are making these OEM's reconsider their plans. And Gujarat has emerged as the blue-eyed state for all major investments and seems to overtake Chennai(TN)/Pune(Maharashtra) as automobile hub.  

The investments are upto a tune of over 40000 crores in the next 4 years. The list is never-ending and looks like -

The plans is to enhance the production capacity to the level of 40 Lakh passenger vehicles. Setting up multiple manufacturing bases is also a part of the location strategy, where the OEM is not completely dependent in terms of manpower/taxes/proximity. The recent labor turmoil in Maruti had literally shut down its overall operations and the damages stood irreplaceable. Even when Maharashtra Govt. lifted its tax benefit, companies such as M&M, VW started looking out for other states as investment options. Gujarat, however due to its Investment friendly policies and low corruption emerged as the darling of OEM's. It would not be an exaggeration to term Tata's shifting its Nano plant to Sanand in an OVERNIGHT. Now companies such as Maruti, Peugeot, Hyundai, Renault/Ford have all approached the state for their Expansion drive.  

A look at how the demographics seems like -

Image Source:Business Today 

Indian Luxury Car Market - A Preview

What is it that makes the segment all that lucrative?

Indian Luxury Car Sales has performed in a time when the Auto Industry was reeling with lower demand and declining sales. The downturn had its impact on all segments of the industry except the luxury space. Name a OEM that manufactures luxury cars and you'll find one in India. Until fifteen years back the only name familiar in the segment was Mercedes. It enjoyed ubiquitous status in the space and was undeterred till the German counterparts arrived. This later led to the rapid influx of almost all luxury OEM's in the Indian market.

The reason was pretty obvious -

As seen, India's luxury car sales contribute only to 0.5% of overall automotive sales. This leaves a huge untapped portion of the market which needs to be leveraged. The volume of the market is nearly 19000 cars/year which is bound to grow by 30-35% and is expected to reach 24k cars in FY 12. The market is currently dominated by German Automakers Mercedes-Benz, BMW & Audi. Lets have a look on their volumes in past 3 years -

BMW was successful in continuously overtaking Mercedes-Benz as the top luxury car maker. The growth has led the OEMs to think very aggressively to improve their stand; For Ex: BMW launching 'India Specific' strategies - pricing the 3 series and X1 under 24 Lakhs (for corporate edition). BMW was also focussed in increasing their outlets across the nation. 

Similarly, Volvo India also launched a similar initiative of lowering its prices for the entry-level S60 sedan. Their outlet strength still remains a concern with only 7 outlets in the country. The OEM is focusing to double the same by F13.    

It is amazing to analyze how the customer profile has changed. Be it the real-estate boom or the growing number of entrepreneurs, purchase of luxury cars remains the symbol of Power, Recognition, Independence & Status. A local farmer from Kolhapur is purchasing a Merc, a beedi factory owner from Raipur is buying a BMW, young IT professional from Pune is owning an Audi, young inherited industrialist from Delhi is driving a Ferrari - one can see the variance in the customer profile and also their similar inclination towards luxury cars. The emergence of the rural India has again increased the market for these cars - who had expected Mercedes-Benz to sell 113 Mercs at Aurangabad & 180 Mercs at Kolhapur in one shot!

A view on the segments and the players -
Sedans:

SUV's:

Ultra-Luxury/Supercars:

The above list is bound to increase and so does its sales.  The attractive financing schemes has also attracted the luxury C-segment car buyers to jump to this segment (Currently BMW is offering its X1 at an EMI of Rs. 15,999!). Second hand car market (used car business) will also grow - Merc & BMW have already jumped into the bandwagon assessing its potential.

With F1 coming in, the craze has put the nation on its toes. The love for luxury cars had raised to the next level. It will be interesting to see how the coming years shape this segment of the market.

Indian Car Sales Figures - February 2012

February 2012 Sales Figures - Pan India

1) Maruti repeats its success – crosses 1 Lakh figure AGAIN! Alto tops again with >32k nos. Sign of sustenance for the Auto Industry.

·         2) Nissan’s Caaaar amazes all with its “Sunny” side – Does 3130 nos.

·         3) Pulse doesn’t affect Micra. Micra does all time high of 2198 nos.

·         4) Mahindra fulfill its promise of increasing its production of XUV 500. Was successful in supplying 2729 XUV’s to its dealers.

·         5) One can see the ‘refresh’ in Xylo numbers. Its numbers increase by 50% (2796) over Jan’12 figures.

·         Innova still remains the people’s choice. With 6271 numbers, one wonders what Toyota would’ve done without Innova!

·         6) Eon crosses 10k for the first time since inception. Did someone tell, it was the end of petrol era?

·         7) Swift carries its name in its performance as well. The numbers have swiftly climbed and even crossed 20k. With better supplies we expect Maruti to sustain the volumes as well.

·         8) 'Dzire Again’ – emerges 3rd bestselling vehicle.

      9) Honda bounces back with its 'exceptional' City and announces its arrival (after the Japan Quake & Thai flood) by churning 6052 numbers.

     10) Skoda has 'RAPID'ly overtaken its cousin Vento's numbers with 2204 nos (Vento - 2174 nos).   

      A list of the top 20 brands of the month - 

Indian Car Sales Figures - January 2012

January 2012 Sales Figures - Pan India

HIGHLIGHTS:

·         1) Maruti back on track – crosses 1 Lakh figure after 9 months! Alto tops again with >32k nos. Sign of revival for the Auto Industry.

·         2) Nissan’s Caaaar amazes all with its “Sunny” side – Does 3218 nos. Nissan as an OEM grows the highest – YOY (178.3%)

·         3) Renault starts shipping the Micra sibling – PULSE. Achieves 746 billing on its first month.

·         4) XUV 500 shows signs of sustenance – With offtake of 2286 numbers. Numbers bound to grow to 3k as the booking starts and expansion in production.

·         5) Innova has its best time till date – With improved supplies achieves its highest offtake till date – 6794 nos!!! No wonder why MUV’s were the focal point at the Auto Expo.

·         6) Mahindra’s toughest off-roader Bolero displays its might once again by standing 6^th in the top 10 selling cars. Does 9338 nos with ease. Word of caution – Tata’s Sumo with the introduction of Sumo Gold variant has crossed 3k figure for consecutively second time – does 3453 nos.

·         7) Fiat makes a comeback with its refresh Punto & Linea – Does 1600 & 501 respectively.

A list of the top 20 brands of the month -