The entry-level sedan segment, which was until recently dominated by the likes of Maruti Swift Dzire, is now going through a rapid change in its equations as some highly competitive cars have marked their debuts in this segment in last few months. First the Volkswagen Vento and now the volume driving Etios from Toyota have completely changed the scenario of this mass segment.
Launched in Dec 2010, the Toyota Etios sedan has been receiving an applauding response from the Indian buyers. The company has already received more than 18,000 bookings for this model in the Indian market. The continuously rising waiting period of Etios, which has reached to up to 8 months, has forced the company to almost double its production to 5,000 units.
Struggling to maintain its market share amidst severe competition from Etios, the segment leader Maruti Swift Dzire registered a dip of 1,000 units in last month’s sales. Maruti’s sales in A3 (entry-level sedan) segment stood at 9,362 units in Dec 2010, as compared to 11,115 units sold in the same month preceding year. Feeling the same heat, the Tata’s Indigo range saw sales dip to 5,234 units during the month, the lowest monthly sales of the Indigo range in calendar year 2010.
