Many different passenger car launches were seen in India during 2012. Some of them won customer hearts and became extremely popular, as witnessed through rising sales figures, whereas others were not so popular. All in all, the year proved to be a mixed bag for the automobile industry.
One of the most popular models of 2012 was the Maruti Ertiga. It is a revolutionary vehicle that has led to the creation of an entirely new segment- the compact MPV. Maruti has once again shown that it completely understands the changing mentality of an Indian customer, by launching this vehicle. Though the Omni and the Eeco have been around for a while, these vehicles do not provide the level of comfort offered by the Ertiga. It is also a very well designed vehicle and does not look boxy, unlike the Omni and the Eeco.
The Ertiga offers comfortable sitting arrangements for seven passengers and is built on the Maruti Ritz platform. Not only does the vehicle offer acres of space, but it is also available at an affordable price range from Rs. 7 lakhs to Rs. 9 lakhs. In November 2012, Maruti was able to sell 7337 units of the Ertiga.
Second on our CarTrade charts is yet another vehicle from the Maruti stable- the new Alto 800. Alto was already leading the sales charts, selling almost 20,000 vehicles (Alto + Alto K10) every month, but then Maruti took competition to a new level with the introduction of the Alto 800. Power, torque and fuel efficiency have been enhanced with respect to the old Alto, despite having the same 814cc engine. The top variant of Alto 800 also gets optional air bags and two windows with power window switches. A new design and shape have imparted freshness to the old Alto design, but space still remains a constraint. However, the vehicle sold 26,600 units in October 2012 and 23,550 in November, which makes it the largest selling car in India.
One of the vehicles that completely took Indians by storm was the Renault Duster. This vehicle had been launched in the compact SUV segment and completely changed the fortunes of the French auto maker in India. Several auto publications have awarded the Duster as the 'Indian Car of the Year', making it an experts' choice as well. Offered between a price of Rs. 7.39 lakhs and Rs. 10.39 lakhs, it offers the perfect mix of power and comfort. The Duster has been designed as an SUV with muscular wheel arches, but offers the comfort and fuel efficiency of a sedan. This has forced several sedan buyers to choose this SUV over a sedan in the same price range. In terms of sheer sales figures, the vehicle has sold 5,300 vehicles in the month of November 2012, and commands a waiting time of 3-4 months now.
In CarTrade's list of some unpopular vehicles, first comes the Fiat Linea. Despite launching an Absolute edition in September 2012, which has many beautiful features such as reverse parking sensors and a 3G tablet for GPS, totally worth Rs. 78,000 at no extra price, the Linea still sold in abysmally low numbers during 2012. Only 59 vehicles were sold in September this year, followed by 37 in October and 63 in November. One of the reasons for this has been the failed JV between Fiat and Tata Motors. Fiat service centres are almost non-existent in most cities.
Nissan Evalia was launched as an MPV to compete strongly with the likes of Toyota Innova, Mahindra Xylo and the Maruti Ertiga. But this vehicle was heavily criticized due to its boxy design, which could be a put off for many buyers. A bigger issue than the design is Nissan's distribution network, as many shipments took place only around November 2012, despite being launched in September. Several vehicles did not reach dealers, and so Nissan managed to sell only 195 units in October and 262 units in November. However, sales could still take off at a later date due to the large availability of space. It was used by Red Bull Racing for carrying around equipment and staff during the 2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix.
Another vehicle which did not manage to strike the right chord with Indian buyers was the Mahindra Ssangyong Rexton. It was launched in October 2012, at a price which was Rs. 3 lakhs below the Toyota Fortuner (Rs. 17.67 -Rs. 19.67 lakhs). The five speed automatic transmission on this vehicle is also slow and does not shift to other gears as most other modern automatics. Even the engine is not refined enough for a vehicle of this price, with the mHawk motor in the XUV500 doing better. Add to that the unfamiliar name of Ssangyong and together, the above mentioned factors have contributed to unimpressive sales figures. 80 vehicles were sold in October 2012 and 121 in November, which is far away from Mahindra's target of 500 vehicles a month.
In total, the Indian buyer has a lot more choices now to choose from, and he is definitely going to be a confused person when armed with Rs. 8 lakhs. With this money, he will have a hard time choosing whether to buy a sedan, an SUV or a compact MPV. One thing is certain- the Indian buyer is smart and will no longer buy a vehicle just for its price, as diminishing sales of the Tata Nano in 2012 have shown.
