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

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