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Tuesday, 16 June 2009
If winter in December was a golden period of discounts on luxury cars, monsoon in June is better. The stimulus package from the government for the car industry helped cut down on car prices in India drastically in the new year. Now June brings in exciting new promises with car manufacturers offering discounts between Rs 5,000 and Rs 1 Lakh to counter a common notion that new cars will suffer in rain and slushy roads. The entire range of Maruti cars excluding the recently rolled out Maruti Suzuki Ritz and Swift DZire attract discounts. Also, the fast-selling Swift hatchback gets only Rs 5,000 off. This is part of Maruti’s monsoon strategy which is introduced every year to push sales. Maruti Suzuki is not the only car manufacturer to blah as General Motors, Ford, and Tata too are offering monsoon discounts. Interestingly, Hyundai has launched a programme in which used cars can be exchanged for new ones for special benefits. Car manufacturers are also offering other benefits such free car insurance, exchange programmes, loyalty bonuses, free accessories, warranty extension, and gift schemes. Auto analysts speculate that car manufacturers are offering heavy discounts on cars this year fearing rise in excise duty in the new budget. They are also eager to forget the bad days of recession and get on with good sales. Labels: Car-Discounts-India, Car-Sales-India
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Fate has a queer way of doling out success and failure. While Ford was in possession of Jaguar and Land Rover for over five years, it continued to face losses from these two car brands year after year. It was forced to finally sell off these entities to Tata Motors. Around the time of the sale, Jaguar was a loss making company and Land Rover could be seen in more favourable light. But within a year of the sale, tables have turned and Jaguar has picked up well and is expected to become profitable very soon. On the other hand, Land Rover has lost its edge over sibling Jaguar and has been sucking up revenues. Fuel-guzzling SUVs went out of style with the spurt in fuel prices. Land Rover sales dipped. Contrary to this, Jaguar’s new XF Sedan was a clear deviation from conservative design and this change has been working for Jaguar. The XF was well received in all its markets. People loved its sporty long flowing design and appreciated it new range of engines. They were made by Ford and Tata has been reaping the rewards. A new 515 bhp 5.0-litre V8 engine replaced the long standing 4.2-litre V8 of the XF. The engine also offered enhanced torque of 625 Nm. The XF helped put Jaguar sales back on track and it has sold 65,000 units in a single year. This was far ahead of the numbers foreseen by Ford when Jaguar was in its possession. The new XF challenged the Audi RS6, BMW M5, and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. Now Jaguar is bringing the revolutionary XF to India this year to treat Indian car buyers to a rare combination of history, speed, and world class engineering. Labels: Car-Sales-India, Jaguar-XF, Tata Motors
Amidst the nagging economic gloom, positive news from the Indian car market provides us with something to cheer about. According to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), car sales in India continued an upward swing for the fifth consecutive month. Passenger cars registered a 2.48 per cent growth in May taking total sales to 1,13,490 units as against 1,10,745 units sold in the same month last year. This time too Maruti Suzuki and Honda have come out on top as saviours of the car market to help it stay in positive territory. Maruti Suzuki registered 9.71 percent increase in May sales and Honda posted a rise of 11.01 percent. Though that’s all good, the overall car sales declined 19% last month, the worst drop in 5 years. Industry experts cry hoarse over meek rate of lending by banks and downturn for the bleak situation. They demand greater government intervention in the form of easy financing, cut in interest rates, and rationalisation of excise duty for a quick revival. One wonders how Maruti and Honda could manage to keep afloat during such trying times where other players like Hyundai and Tata bit the dust with dip in sales. On close scrutiny, it can be seen that Maruti’s "one component, one gram" policy has worked well. This policy helps them cut down on costs and improve a car’s fuel efficiency and performance, making it a "paisa wasool" (value for money) car. Currently, Maruti 800 weighs 650 kg and a 2kg weight reduction could bring down the cost of the model. The company has asked its vendors to reduce the weight of each component by one gram. The "one-gram" theory has helped them reduce cost of production thereby fighting the sullen car market more effectively. Honda too is bringing out its new model Jazz with reduced weight. Labels: Car-Sales-India, Honda, Maruti-Suzuki
Monday, 8 June 2009
Ever since their arrival to the Indian car market, German luxury car manufacturers have locked horns with each other to grab a share of the lucrative market. This time, BMW has gone one up in the battle of titans by beating Mercedes-Benz in sales. BMW sold 466 cars compared to Mercedes’ 371 in the month of May. Despite economic recession and slowdown in the auto industry, the market has remained profitable for luxury car manufacturers which have posted handsome sales figures over the past few months. BMW’s surging success can be attributed to lacklustre performance of Mercedes-Benz when it comes to new car launches. Though the latter has introduced renewed and refreshed versions of its top selling car models, no new models have been brought in over the last six months. Compare that with BMW’s four new model launches this year the innovative X6 sports activity coupe, Z4 roadster, and the very expensive upgraded 7 Series. Mercedes-Benz also failed to effectively combat BMW’s innovative marketing strategies like zero percent schemes, loyalty programs, and exchange programs. Though Audi’s car sales aren’t far behind in the race to conquer the Indian car market, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are almost head to head. BMW started off in the lead at the start of the year but then lost out to Mercedes-Benz in subsequent months. After the brief lull, BMW has taken the lead again with astounding sales last month. Labels: BMW-Cars, Car-Sales-India, Luxury-Cars, Mercedes-Benz
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
As the current calendar year is now to end after a long period of woes and despair in the car market, Indian car manufacturers are now banking on the new year to bring some fortune in the industry. December was to see various new car launches including the Fiat Linea and Mahindra Xylo. But the meltdown in the market and Mumbai terror attack pushed the launch of Linea and Xylo. But, is that really true? Some say the key reason for pushing forward the launch date of these cars is not the fear of recession but to compile a good inventory of cars across all dealers at the exact launch date. At this stage, its difficult to judge whether the fear of falling car market or preparing to have a stockpile of cars have forced them to postpone the launch.  All we can say is that both these car companies have high hopes tied to their respective car models, now to be launched in January 2009. The recent moves taken by the government with regards to reducing fuel prices and lowering excise duty was also believed to bring some relief to car manufacturers. But, unfortunately, the government was not successful in resolving the core issue of availability of finance to car consumers. So, the worries and despair stayed. Companies like the Toyota, Audi, BMW, and the Hyundai are ready to launch their respective car models in the coming time. Though facelifted Innova, BMW 3-Series, and Audi's A4 sedans with two new engine options are expected to come by next year, Hyundai i20 is likely to make its entry by December end. With high hopes and aspiration, car manufacturers are actually waiting for the New Year splash. They all are aiming for elevated car sales and a better car market with the portfolio of car launches and advancements taking place in the upcoming year. Labels: Car-Sales-India, New-Cars-Launch
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Compared to last year, this September saw more car sales despite of a drastic slump over the past two months due to inflation and increased fuel prices. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has measured that passenger car sales in September rose by 3000 units compared to the same month last year. The picture was looking grim due to decreased sales and it is obvious that the current numbers are much better than what was expected. Maruti Suzuki saw a marginal increase in sales by about 180 units compared to September 2007. Hyundai has done much better with nearly a 24% increase. Not all car manufacturers though have registered improved sales. General Motors sold roughly 5% less than last September. The September sales scenario is pretty much is variable for each car manufacturer. Some have lost and some have gained. But the overall sales of cars this September is marginally higher to the sales last September. This is a very positive picture for the Indian car industry. Labels: Car-Sales-India, General-Motors, Hyundai, Maruti-Suzuki
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