Indian Car Sales Figures – September 2017

The Indian Auto Industry continued its growth momentum this festive season and grew over 11% in Sep’17. Dusshera was the prominent festival in Sep’17, and the market was also getting ready for the biggest festival of the year – Diwali. Let’s see how the OEM’s fared –

Maximum number of new car launches happen in the Aug-Nov timeframe owing to the festive demand. Even in Sep’17, new launches were in the limelight. Tata started dispatches of its much awaited Nexon and Skoda bought in the Kodiaq too. Ford too started dispatches of it next generation Ecosport. Hyundai’s Newest Generation Verna topped the segment and pipped City to be the best seller – Again a reason why launching a car in festive season is fruitful! All the new car launches are extremely strategic to its respective OEM –

Nexon – The compact SUV segment can’t be ignored right now. Honda too recently bounced back into action with the success of the WRV. Brezza’s numbers too are testimony of what the segment can offer. Tata launched its model at the lowest price and raised many eye-brows. Not only the price; but the feature list is mouth watering too. Nexon’s success could push Tata’s in the No.4 spot in the ranking table.
Kodiaq – It has been generating a lot of interest right from the time it was showcased in the Geneva Motor Show. Globally, it has already won many awards – (In November 2016, Škoda Kodiaq was named the “Best Family Car in the World” by Top Gear Magazine. Kodiaq won the title of the Car of the Year 2017 in the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria, the SUV of the year in China and France and the all-wheel drive car in Germany. Kodiaq also won in German magazine competition Auto Test for 2017 and is the winner of competitions in British magazines Auto Express and What Car for 2017. Kodiaq also received the Red Dot Design Award for 2017. Source: Wikipedia). However, similarity to the already launched Tiguan and the ambitious pricing can act as a deterrent.
Ecosport – It is the only silver lining Ford can currently depend upon. Over 56% of Ford’s sales in Sep’17 was contributed by Ecosport and the trend will aggravate even further. With new entrants in the Compact SUV space (WRV, Nexon, etc); Ford needs to protect its turf and keep its buyer engaged. The new design and interiors will help Ford in its purpose and sustain the volumes.
Verna – While Hyundai’s volumes had stagnated at 42k mark, it needed a product which could push it ~50k. And yes, Verna comes in. It has all the bells and whistles to be the ‘Hero’ product in the portfolio. However, beating the competition (City & Ciaz) will not be easy.

Let’s look at the modelwise analysis here: