Make way for the Prince - Honda Amaze!!!

Often there is a sense of curiosity and sheer excitement when we wait for outcomes. We just wait for things to happen and there lies the surprise. Life is such. We do not know what the future holds for us. Each and every day springs in new surprises  And so, life is exciting. But when we do know whats in store for us, apparently monotony sets in. It steals away the amazement which would make things worth waiting to know. It applies to everything. Ranging from hit list to Sports to living and so on. Consider Man United in EPL. CSK in IPL. Tiger Woods in Highest Paid Athlete list. We all know these are there to stay every year and there are no surprises. There is a clear dominance in each of these right through. Yet we were in for a surprise when things unfolded last year. Man City replaced Man United. KKR toppled CSK. Floyd Mayweather punched his way to chuck Tiger Woods out. Some of us were left in shock and awe while some cherished the surprise. Surprise there is, reminds us that change is inevitable. Actually, change is good.

For years now, Maruti has been the market leader in Cars in India with Hyundai being the distant second. MUL sells close to one lakh units each month (a share of close to 45%) while HMIL sells just over a quarter of it (around 14%). The reason for MUL's dominance is early inroads, huge network and trust among customers backed by a huge portfolio catering to all segments. With it's Alto, Swift siblings and Wagon-R, MUL enjoys unprecedented success in volumes. Come what may, it defies law of competition. Any competing vehicle form other manufactures loses by a big margin to these household names from MUL. The DZire especially has reigned supreme ever since it came into the market. But it was about time that somebody upped the game in this segment and Honda seem to have just done that  with it's latest offering, leaving MUL in a spot of bother.  Literally.

Honda sales normally amounts to less than 10000 units each month (at the most in it's prime). It even hit a low of 1960 last June (thanks to the storm created by petrol price hike and desire for diesel cars). A mere share of around 3 - 4% of the pie is what it earns normally. The reason being the lack of a diesel variant in its portfolio. Quality offerings from rivals din't help Honda's cause and the Japanese car makers were left reeling down the barrel.  Apparently Honda lost its reputation and it's future in the Indian market went for a toss. After an year of resilient market study and strategics,  Honda has come up with what could be a defining move, its first ever diesel variant in India - the "Amaze" and boy hasn't it revived Honda's fortunes.  A whopping 22,000 bookings in less than a month of its launch, plucking a thick share from the leading Dzire, has meant a telling blow to Maruti.  Going by expert reviews, it  almost seems like the Amaze was designed and built just to topple the DZire from its throne. Honda has struck gold with Amaze and this was something the competition was dreading for a long time and to come up with something better definitely took a lot of doing.

More than doubling its normal sale volume with just one launch, Honda has now stamped its authority back on Indian roads. A job well done, a lesson learnt the hard way hard though but shall stay on for its success. We all do learn the hard way and its the only way we keep ourselves forward. It has meant that excelling in matching customer needs with a prompt offering is always a proven success package.  Honda has just done that, we may believe. As for Maruti, the so far unchallenged leader, it would take time and a possible miracle to rebound.

- DC

January 2013 - Car Sales!!

January is known for two things: intense New Year’s celebrations and so called resolutions that we more often than not fail to live up to. Despite holiday hangovers and blizzard conditions, vehicle shoppers went about their own way and snapped up cars.  The top 3 seem to be steadily consolidating their positions, doing what they do best, in a market that remains stagnant and will continue to do so for some more time. The overall scenario can be seen as a positive just for a reason that Jan 2013 is the 2nd best month of this financial year after October 2012. 

Market leader Maruti’s domestic numbers grew 2% over the corresponding period of 2012. However, exports dived noticeably by about 22%. Maruti’s domination, even after all of the world’s brands have arrived in India, is commendable. The Alto, WagonR, Swift & Dzire scale new heights, with three of them recording their highest sales performance in 6 months. Hyundai Motor India, country's second-largest car manufacturer, registered a 4.25% growth in cumulative sales for January 2013. The domestic sales grew 1.2% to 34,302 units compared to 33,900 units last year.  The entry-level Eon moves past the 8,000 mark, but the i20 – Hyundai’s most expensive hatchback – outsells all of its cheaper siblings! The Fluidic Verna & Elantra remain the sedans to beat in the C2 & D1 segment respectively. These two have given the market exactly what it wanted. On the flip side, the Sonata brings back D2 segment nightmares for Hyundai.

Mahindra’s got its foot on the accelerator and there’s no letting back. Reason being launch of one blockbuster UV after another. The Bolero goes from strength to strength and the Scorpio & XUV500 continue to do what they do best. Corssing 4000 and 3500 respectively. 

Though some car makers have felt the heat due to price hike, rise in interest rates and deregulation of diesel price. This led to a 5% fall in total Jan sales (230204 units as compared to 242394 units last year).  The most hit being Tata Motors, Toyota and Ford Motors suffering their worst declines. Sales of Tata Motors fell by over 56% with sales at 15209 against 34669 last year, while that of Ford fell by 34% with respective figures of 6062 and 9137. 

The SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) has predicted 0-1% growth for passenger cars in FY13. SIAM has altered its forecast for the third time from the initial 10-12% estimate made in April and 2-4% in October last year. Experts say that sluggish economic conditions have added to the woes and may push car sales to its weakest growth in nine years. This being the case, the car makers can only expect a revival of sorts with the Union Budget that is set for February 28, hoping for something to be in favourable for the automobile industry which will help them increase their sales.

- DC

Soruce: SIAM, TeamBHP, Economic Times