Toyota Fortuner can be easily called a runaway success for Toyota. The model has left its contenders like Honda CRV, Ford Endeavor, Mitsibishi Pajero and Chevrolet Captia far behind within few months of its launch. What can be conveniently termed as a “Fortuner Success Story” as the Fortuner has received 7000 bookings in the month of August itself which is roughly 10 times the sales clocked cumulatively by its competitors.
Ford also launched a revamped variant of Endeavour which failed to make an impact on Fortuner’s sales. SUV sales figures have experienced a sharp decline in past few months. Ford India saw an 85% drop in sales of its Endeavour last month over the corresponding period last year. While Hindustan Motors sold 118 Pajeros this August, Honda sold only 77 CRVs during the same month this year.
It remains to be seen to what extent the segment cars are adapting their strategies. “The current strategy on CR-V has nothing to do with competition coming in and was taken well before in the beginning of this year itself,” states Jnaneswar Sen, VP (marketing), Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI).
