The mid-sized sedan is currently one of the most competitive segment and majority of the OEMs have a product in the category. There has been a consistent shuffle in the top-seller in the category and has been an interesting segment to watch for. The struggle for the Top Slot has been between the Big 3 (Maruti Nexa, Honda & Hyundai) and all the mentioned products have their own competencies to make them the market leader.
Let’s see who fared in which position in the month of September 2018 –
1. Nexa Ciaz – Maruti Nexa’s Ciaz sold a whopping 6,246 units and was the undoubted leader in the segment.
Ciaz in it’s refreshed avatar has made significant changes in the erstwhile weak areas (performance) and now the package is even more complete. The company has marketed the product well and has an excellent value proposition at the price at which it is offered.
2. Hyundai Verna – Verna is the most performance oriented vehicle amongst other models and is extremely feature rich too in the latest avatar. Verna was the model which had helped Hyundai elevate it’s Premium Brand Imagery.
Verna sold 3,501 units in September 2018 and the sales fell -42% when compared to the same period last year.
3. Honda City – Once the benchmark in the segment; now is facing stiff competition from the other two lower priced models (Ciaz & Verna).
City sold 2,564 units in Sep’18 and degrew a hefty -57% YoY. The recently launched Ciaz has affected the sales of all other models in the segment and even City couldn’t stand the tide. 4. Skoda Rapid – Skoda’s bestseller is now selling more than the Yaris!
Yes, Rapid registered higher sales than that of Toyota’s Yaris in Sep’18! However, even Rapid’s YoY growth was -29% and had a bad festival season.
5. Toyota Yaris – One of the most ambitious launch of the year fell short of expectations!
The pricing played the villain’s role in Toyota’s case as the price conscious customer’s were opting either the Ciaz/Verna and the premium customers were attracted towards Honda’s City. Yaris somehow missed the bus and couldn’t create a following of it’s own. Yaris has registered the lowest sales figures yet since launch in Sep’18! The road looks extremely tough ahead for this sedan.
6. VW Vento – The Rapid’s sibling again wasn’t able to justify the price difference and sold a meager 430 units in Sep’18.
Vento degrew -46% YoY and the sales volumes are slowly dwindling for the model.
Have a look at the statistics and the YoY comparison for the models in the segment –
