March has always been a positive month for the Auto Industry considering the year end depreciation benefits, big ticket discounts by OEM’s and the assumption that prices will increase from April. Also March being the end of financial year, all manufacturers push for achieving the year’s target shortfall.
March 2015 Sales Figures – Pan India
Maruti – Alto, Dzire, Swift & Wagon R deliver their consistent performance as always. Ciaz numbers sees a month-on-month dip and is a concern for the brand – Do note that the competition Honda City has posted its best performance for FY and also Hyundai has attempted to revive its falling Verna sales by launching the refreshed 4S Verna. The competition for Ciaz is going to be tough and the coming months will be crucial for the brand to sustain and prove its mettle. It is surprising how brands such as Eeco, Omni & Gypsy are contributing to the volumes – 12,768 units combined (which is more than the monthly volumes of VW, GM, Fiat, Ford, Skoda, etc)! No direct competition for these cars and their undoubted value for money proposition has worked in their favor. Hyundai – The Korean auto major is in full-throttle mode and has given everything to increase its pie in the Indian market. No other company has been as aggressive as Hyundai in recent times considering the updates/new product launches in past 18 months. Within 8 months of the launch of elite i20, the cross variant was offered to the Indian customers in Mar’15 – No wonder, the brand crosses 12k units for the first time in its lifecycle! Hyundai was hence successful to post its ever highest offtake numbers in March 2015. Honda – Its numbers has been nothing but a fairy tale in the past financial year. Even the Honda officials wouldn’t have anticipated the growth the company experienced in the last 18 months! And the performance is improving consistently – City delivers its highest offtake figures and misses 10k mark by a whisker. The Verna’s & Ciaz’s of the world couldn’t shake City’s dominance. Even Amaze has a stellar comeback and posts respectable 8.1k units. Mobilio is trying hard to gain acceptance in the under-developed MUV segment. Brio too tries hard to signify its existence. It is now crucial for Honda to maintain its position in the THIRD slot and gun for the second (can the new Jazz make this dream a reality?) Mahindra – The homegrown SUV major has tried hard to sustain its rank, but Honda managed to snatch the position. This was a result of lot of unsuccessful launches from the automaker – Quanto, Vibe, Rexton, etc. The volumes are completely dependent of 3 carlines – Bolero, Scorpio & XUV 500. We are happy to see the Bolero figures crossing the 10k mark after a long gap of 11 months! Is the slowdown in rural market affecting M&M’s volumes? Tata – It is disheartening to see Bolt & Zest’s volumes being lower then its elder siblings – Indica & Indigo. The average consumer is still wary to accept the brands for personal use and the newer offerings have not taken off the way Tata would have expected. Safari experiences a continuous decline – maybe the update expected on the carline is on the cards. Toyota – Seeing Innova’s & Fortuner’s volumes, one can understand why this Japanese carmaker the no.1 brand worldwide! Selling these volumes in high-end segment is never easy. The philosophy continues with Corolla as well the numbers is currently hovering at an average of 850 units.
Snapshot of how March 2015 defined the performance of the Auto Industry for FY15 –
Source : ET
Also an interesting snapshot of the overall Automotive Industry for Mar’15:
Source: AutocarPro