The Indian auto sector does not want to slip away the money generating opportunity, which the festive season brings. The back-to-back launches are taking place to fire up the gloomy market. Spurred by the heightened customer spending around Diwali both homegrown and overseas auto giants have lined up a slew of great models.
The constant petrol price hike is a major issue in the world of motoring and as a result, the growth in demand of diesel powered vehicles is being seen for quite a while now. The upcoming or refreshed models commonly have a diesel heart to suit the needs and pockets of discerning Indian buyers. No doubt, the thoughts on the future of the Indian car market is disturbing auto majors as the year 2013 was labeled as ‘Black Friday’ in the Indian auto industry but the coming Festive season might give these disheartened auto majors a reason to celebrate.
As per market analysis, the month of October and November brings about 23% hike in the sales figure as this time is considered to be the most auspicious time for making purchases. From fresh models, facelifts special editions, to freebies, offers on accessories, loyalty exchange bonus and free insurance for consumers, all are offered on a gold platter to the Indian car buyers.
Beginning with the week right on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, two major launches were made, both of which were hatchbacks; both were launched to conquer their respective segments and were a part of a long term strategy for their own auto majors to acquire the top slot. Yes, we are talking about the Hyundai Grand i10 and BMW 1 Series. The Grand i10 makes its entry in the Indian car market to heat up competition against Maruti Swift, whereas BMW 1 series is going to steal the show from the Mercedes Benz A Class. Hyundai has big shoes to fill as the South Korean auto major plans to beat Maruti at its own game and reach the top slot whereas BMW wants to snub the Mercedes Benz advances as it is trying to claw its way back into the top slot.
Mahindra Scorpio the SUV, which was rolled out 11 years ago is making headlines back-to-back. Mahindra India’s indigenous product is not jaded and not lost its ground either. The Scorpio SUV has locked horns with the the 1 year old Renault Duster and has won hands down in the month of July and August in terms of sales figures. September also has begun on a positive note for the brand, as Mahindra Scorpio sales reached the 4 million mark from the day of its launch in the Indian car market. To keep the momentum going, Mahindra India has also introduced Mahindra Scorpio Special Edition, which is limited to 500 units, as the facelift version will be rolled out in the month of January 2014. Mahindra Scorpio seems to be on the glory track.
Limited Edition market is turning dramatic and is sure to see a lot of happenings in the coming weeks. Etios sedan and Liva hatchback duo from brand Toyota has joined the limited edition bandwagon with the launch of a special edition. The Japanese auto major has brought the new limited edition variants on the occasion of the second anniversary of Etios in India. The Xclusive edition cars are based on the G variant of the original models and are available in both petrol and diesel engine options. The feature-enriched Xclusive variants come for about Rs.15,000-20,000 over the normal G variants; the company will release just 1000 units.
Away from the limited edition glory, Volkswagen has added a new edition, Polo GT TDI after the GT TSI variant which was introduced in the month of April. Volkswagen Polo has always been criticized for its engines and the company is planning to replace these engines with the facelift version to be launched in May next year. The 1.6L 4 cylinder diesel engine is extremely frugal and saves chunks of money in the sky rocketing fuel price scenario of the Indian economy. Indian auto market is driven by the fuel economy figures and the new Volkswagen Polo GT TDI fits the bill, well. The Volkswagen Polo GT talks of better technology and the story begins well under the sharply cut bonnet of the new hatch.
The festival season is just weeks away now and the fresh launches last week are sure to bring back to life, the listless auto market; the day of reckoning is not too far!
sourced from www.cardekho.com