By: David Isaiah, Friday, February 10, 2012, AutomotiveWorld.com
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09 November, 2011 South Korean car maker Hyundai has lined up 10-15 launches in India in the next four to five years, in an attempt to protect and boost its market share that is under pressure due to increasing competition.
The firm, whose market share in India has fallen to 18.3 percent from 21 percent in the past 12-18 months, plans to overhaul its portfolio with stylish so-called “fluidic” designs and enter categories where it has no presence.
“The excitement in the market is derived out of only new models and the facelifts, so you have to be continuously working towards it,” said Arvind Saxena, vice-president sales and marketing, Hyundai India. The company plans to launch a cost-saving LPG variant of Eon prompted by rising petrol prices.
Also on cards from Hyundai stable are an executive sedan positioned above Verna to take on likes of Chevrolet Cruze and Honda Civic, in addition to variants and facelifts of i10 and i20 in the next few years. Hyundai recently launched its smallest car Eon, pitted against Maruti’s global top seller Alto.
Hyundai’s planned product onslaught comes at a time India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki has lined up 15-20 cars by 2015. Foreign car markers have also planned a parade of new cars, including 6-8 from General Motors, eight from Ford, and 10-15 from Renault-Nissan.
Backed by the strong economic growth and low penetration of cars, the passenger car market in India has witnessed a strong double digit growth over the last few years and it is expected to maintain a growth of 12-14 percent in the next five years.
However in the first six month of this fiscal, passenger vehicle sales have remained sluggish, growing at 1.84 percent as rising interest rates, firmer commodity prices and stubbornly high inflation dented demand in one of the fastest growing car markets.
“Experts said it is not surprising to see a barrage of new launches as product lifecycles get shorter and competition intensifies.” The basic genesis has to be that it has to offer value and it has to be differentiated from other products.
With Eon at the bottom end and Santa Fe at the top, Hyundai will study all segments within this range that could make sense for the Indian market, Saxena said. With widening price differential between diesel and petrol, Hyundai has not ruled out compact diesel cars in future.
28 November 2010
By Tim Pollard
Tata is cranking up supply of the Nano in India to counter sluggish sales. Until now, supply has been pretty limited with sales most months struggling to break beyond four figures; hardly the breakthrough expected from the widely hyped cheapest car in the world.
A new plant in Sanand recently came on stream and it has a capacity of 250,000 cars a year. The Nano hasn't been rolled out across India yet, but this week Tata launched sales in six new provinces.
In a bid to drum up disappointing sales, it's also launched a new finance scheme with 26 local banks with interest rates from between 8% and 20%.
Tata Nano: the three versions you can buy
The Tata Nano is just 3.1m long and has the smallest claimed footprint of any car on sale in India. Tata sells three trim levels in India:
Tata Nano Standard
The standard version, in three colour options, single-tone seats, and fold-down rear seat
Tata Nano CX
In five colour options, with heating and air-conditioning, two-tone seats, parcel shelf, booster-assisted brakes, fold-down rear seat
Tata Nano LX
CX plus complete fabric seats, central locking, front power windows, body coloured exteriors in three premium colours, fog lamps, electronic trip meter, cup holder in front console, mobile charger point, and rear spoiler.
Tata Nano spec
The Nano's two-cylinder 624cc engine delivers 35bhp at 5250rpm and 35lb ft of torque at 3000rpm. It's enough for a claimed top speed of 105kph and oomph to tackle a 30% hill before rolling backwards.
Tata claims the 600kg kerb weight helps trim fuel consumption and CO2 emissions stand at a claimed 101g/km.
What about all these Tata Nano fires?
They've done nothing for consumer confidence, according to sources in India. But Tata says the problem has been isolated and they've offered upgrades to early cars.
All new Nanos sold in India come with an 18-month/15,000-mile warranty - extendable to 30 months/25,000 miles with the optional Nano Secure package.
