Your Predictions For Car Companies in India For 2014-15

[Raja]

Since we are close to year end now . This year we saw some new car launches like the Honda amaze , Hyundai i10 grand , ford Ecosport , Nissan Terrano . And many refresh launches too like the Nissan micra , sumo gold , fiat t-jet and etc .

The Amaze , Ecosport really bought Honda , Ford back in game .

What are your predictions for car companies in India and who can dominate the year 2014-2015 .

Iam writing my predictions and thoughts ( subjective ) , kindly add your thoughts and predictions too .

1) Hyundai - I think Hyundai will flourish in 2014-15 too with their launch of i10 grand sedan and mini SUV . Both the products maybe received well .

2) fiat - all though there won't be any dramatic impact I think the new linea , punto might bring some fresh air and along with jeep brand fiat can make their presence felt in much stronger way .

3) tata- will be busy in sticker jobs ( read refreshes ) and I think with no new immediate products will continue to slide downwards . Maybe only after 2015 they might expreince some positive growth after launching some all new cars on different platforms .

4) mahindra - with the w4 variant of xuv and refreshed Scorpio mahindra will experience some good healthy growth . But since there are no new launches planned till 2016 , I don't find dramatic growth which they saw in 2011-2012 .

5) Honda - now with Honda I feel this is a company a force reckon with in 2014-15 . They have some couple of exciting launches lined up and with diesel options too namely the new jaaz , new city , mini SUV , MPV . In coming 2 years I see Honda going very strong .

5) Toyota - like allways I think they will continue to sail with their reliability image smoothly .

6) Nissan - I don't find any dramatic change over in the fortunes of Nissan .

7) Renault - same as Nissan as there are no new products lined up .

8) maruti - will hit sixers it seems , as they have their mini SUV , premium sedan , new a star lined up , I think maruti will remain at the top .

9) ford - Ecosport brought the much needed energy for ford , and it all depends now what they showcase or announce in the auto expo and incase new competitive products are launched as they had promised till 2015 ford can see soild surge .

1o) chevorlet - I don't see any dramatic progress from them , there are no plans even announced .

Overall I think 3 car makers will remain at top limelight Honda , Hyundai , maruti with some exciting products lined up from them .

What are your predictions and thoughts ? Kindly share them and let's discuss them .

PS - above predictions are based on the news available so far around the web world which I have read and by no means must be taken as objective analysis of the subject . Since entire plans of car companies are not known ,everything is subject to change .

 

[Indian]

Agree with you Raja, I cant talk about all the companies you mentioned about as I am not following them keenly.

Hyundai, Yes currently they are doing good and looks like they are company well established and with better customer satisfaction after Maruti. Right now they have almost all segments in their belt. A new Hexa(I think that's what its called) may be a big thing if they launch in India. This is very versatile and flexible vehicle can do wonders for space hungry, seat number hungry Indian public. , I think they will be the front runners after Maruti for next year.

Honda, they have amazing line up, New Jazz could be next Swift story(I said the same thing for Ecosport, but I don't think that will happen soon looking at the events unfolding so far), Honda being better managed Japanese company they have better edge here. New City is ready to be launched with diesel engine which could change ranking of Hyundai Verna and other C segment cars . Add to that the 'Mobilio' should be already induced shiver in Maruti Ertiga spines. And ofcourse the mini SUV, what more Honda can dream, complete assault force is ready, next year will be major year for Honda, and Hyundai should be really worried.

Maruti, new SX4 and XA Alpha could be the highlights for next year, well they will continue as leaders for sure. But if SX4 and XA could give a better lead what they should be looking for.

 

[draneeshpm]

Hi Raja,
Good topic.While at it there is nothing exciting for most manufacturers barring Maruti, Hyundai and Honda.
I think Maruti has the most to offer with new A-star,YL7 sedan,Possibly X-Alpha.Honda too has three launches of which City in its diesel avatar and Mobilio would be hot favourites.Hope Skoda launch the European Rapid here to have at the slot of 11-16 lakhs as I feel lot of people would love a good car in that slot.
Regards,
Aneesh.

 

[Raja]

@ all

I forgot to add VW & skoda extremely sorry .

VW - since they have officially announced no products till 2015 , can't see what magic VW will do in the market .

skoda - it's hard to predict how the new Fabia, or a refreshed yeti will be received .

 

[Indian]

Sorry, forgot to mention about Ford's future...
Basically it will be do or die year for Ford. They had one great product for this year, but so far they have not done anything great other than the creation of Ecosport. It's not just having a good product makes you a winner, there are lot of components, market strategy, planning, customer relations, booking and delivery management to be planned and analysed way before the launch new vehicle. In which I should say they failed miserably for one great product. So 2014 is going to be a very interesting year for Ford. They have new Fiesta face lift, Fiesta Hatchback, which may come to India but it might become another chaos theory in the market. So far it looks Ford is very immature company(In India) based on my Ecosport experience. I still like the new Fiesta but don't have any faith or guts to put my money in. So for Ford very important year

 

[Dhrubo]

Overall I do not think there would be a sea change in the industry.
Maruti will only strengthen their position at the numero uno spot. Even without new launches (which is not the case), they have created too strong a position in the Indian minds to be slowed down in the near future. Good thing that they are also staying in competition with timely launches and although they are playing catching up as far as features/creature comforts are concerned, at least they are embracing it. That would help them to not find themselves in a position like Nokia.
Hyundai would stay a strong number 2, the only threat to maruti's supremacy but still some way away. They would do good to launch a crossover before Maruti does to give themselves a head start.
Honda has a great line up but the bottleneck is the production line. The limited capacity will see them selling not more than 10k vehicles a month. But given their vehicle line up, I would assume they would do that with some consistency.
Ford has got a one man show right now. Unless they launch new figo and possibly the fiesta hatchback, their sales will decline. Ecosport has got them the footfalls, now is the time to strike. We have seen that with the fiesta. With the discounts and people inquiring about ecosport there was a surge in sales of the fiesta.
Toyota's performance,much like their cars, would be stable. But I seriously hope the Indian buyers just don't plonk their money at the toyota brand. That would shake things up for them. , specially with the gem of a 1.5l engine) could have had a much better run had it not been for Toyota's arrogance.
Fiat will continue to serve the enthusiasts. They will need more time to shake off the baggage that they are carrying from their collaboration with TATA.
TATA is only going to go down further in the private vehicle space.
Mahindra would continue to do okay thanks to the old war horse Scorpio. Due to lack of options at the price band scorpio will continue to sell. But they really need another good product in their line up (specially in the sub 6-7 lakh segment) to make hyundai sweat.

 

[SankarNarayanan]

@ all

I forgot to add VW & skoda extremely sorry .

VW - since they have officially announced no products till 2015 , can't see what magic VW will do in the market .

skoda - it's hard to predict how the new Fabia, or a refreshed yeti will be received .

Raja Nice report but in Skoda they have one of the best all round sedans - New Octavia which is sure to be a success with it awesome styling and features.

Regards,
Sankar

 

[Raja]

Raja Nice report but in Skoda they have one of the best all round sedans - New Octavia which is sure to be a success with it awesome styling and features.

Regards,
Sankar

Ohhh yes you are right .

But in year 2014-15 they have nothing exciting coming up it seems like maruti , Hyundai and Honda.

But yes Octavia is super .

 

[DJ bro]

Good reviews and predictions!
Tata is busy with facelifts and Manza CS and also Nano diesel and another Nano with bigger petrol engine is on the way! I also have a suspicion that they are developing a Manza based MPV!
Of course Honda has a fortune in India with new Jazz, Mobilio and diesel variants coming!
M Suzuki are bringing the new SX4 sedan, XA Alpha and new A star, which will be sure toppers! I dont know whether Hyundai is bringing the Grand i10 sedan mini SUV in the next year bcoz the mules are being tested only abroad now.
Toyota is bringing the new Corolla soon and I think Renault is planning to bring the Lodgy MPV!

 

[Sandykudva]

Hi Frens

What i am going to write about is just my personal view so no offences to anyone

About the year 2015

1) Chevrolet: The american company builds solid cars with good engines and good interiors but somehow do not have that factor which makes people go crazy for it. The Beat and the Cruze were instant hits during their launches but the craze fazed out. The Chevrolet enjoy also did not fair that well.Now in 2014 the company is offering an face lift for the beat which i doubt will make that much of an impact on the buyers but yes the Chevrolet Trax which they are offering does look good in the SUV range.

2)Fiat : The cars have changed completely from the time in the 80's but no matter how much face lifts the fiat offers to the punto and the linea the car wont sell that much due to the tata branding behind it. Very frankly i was very impressed with the linea and the punto with the quality and finish but the engines were a complete failure. The only engine options worth drivng wer the T jet and the 90 bhp punto. Now in 2014 they are offering the Bravo, Panda and the more anticipated Abarth but again doubt the sales only the abarth might sell due to petrolheads but again depends on d specs. So 2014 will be the same for Fiats as it has been always.

3)Ford: Another american in the market but somehow they never impressed the car buyers towards them. The fiesta classic had the best in class mileage for the diesel but in the end all the savings would be eaten up by the maintenance of the vehicle only. The figo was an instant hit and the diesel with the no turbo lag was impressive but again the running cost and after sales killed it. The ecosport created a great hype before its entry but some how when it did enter the fizz had gone off. The company offers the new Endeavour and the New Mondeo but the competition is too tight for Ford in those segments. So i guess thats another fizz out for ford.

4)Honda: One of the most reliable Car manufacturers known for its bullet proof impression in petrol engines. The honda had ruled the petrol market for almost 10 years until the launch of VW Vento and the Price hike of petrol. But the amaze almost saved the honda as it was launched with the first Diesel engine from honda which was the one factor honda was missing. Now with expected launches of Mobilo, New Jazz & Accord Diesel in 2014, they are planning a full frontal attack on the car manufactures covering 3 major segments of the car industry. The honda will rule the 2014 market mostly with the line up.

5)Hyundai: According to me Hyundai is a very smart korean company like the Samsung Mobiles they usually keep on upgrading their designs and interiors so frequently that it becomes difficult for the other companies to cope up. Also like samsung they tend to provide all the features to a small car making people go crazy for it just like if you have a small phone with all the features. The Fluidic I 20, Verna gave the company a good boost but somehow hyundai does not realize that it is killing its own products by launching the facelifts soon. The grand i 10 was a big hit as it provided all the packaging in the small box as well as an diesel option. but again i doubt the fizz will last for long. In short 2014 will be the same as the last year.

6) Mahindra: Mahindra had a different crowd for buying these people who usually preferred going off road or the maximum in the south indian movie industry. Scorpio was one of the most successful SUV in its class.The entry of the Xylo surely hit the sales of the Innova but not for long people some how preffered the Innova over the Xylo. Still xylo played an important part in the tourist industry after the india.Then comes the biggest entry from mahindra the XUV 500 it turned the tables for mahindra more then even they had expected. The SUV was packed with all the features few of which was only available to the segment above. People became crazy but later on due to a few hicups and problems there was a bit of drop but still it is marginally doing well. In 2014 mahindra plan on a compact SUV in competition with the Eco Sport now its a 50-50 for mahindra in 2014 the tables may turn up or fall drastically.

7)Maruti Suzuki: One of the Biggest dealers in india with the widest range of products. Maruti has been a leader but since a few years back it has been facing the competition heat a lot. It has a big line up of cars which i think no other company has to offer. In fact there are so many hatchbacks among the company that they almost compete each other. maruti's tables turne big times with the launch of the swift way back in 2005.People went crazy about the car. The Manufacturer hit another big sixer after introducing the Multijet Diesel in the swift which turned out to be more successful than the petrol. Later on with the launch of the Dzire, SX4, Ritz maruti kept playing along well. Maruti did face a bit of dissappointment with the Kizashi though. Maruti timed the entry of the facelifted swift and dzire perfectly on time revivwing it again.The Launch of the ertiga was one of the biggest blow to the innova sales. I can say that maruti is one of the safest companies in the lot with a wide range of products and the lineup in 2014 with the facelifted A star and Ertiga Automatic and the Wagon R Diesel is another good move by them.

8)Renault: The Renault mahindra tie up had led to the introduction of the Logan. The car had a very simple design with simple structure but a very good diesel engine for combination which grasped a lot of customers but with lot of issues between mahindra and renault tie up and service problems the car fizzed out even though the car was given numerous face lifts could not be reviwed. The Renaults later on tie up led to numerous duplication of cars like Pulse-Micra, Scala-Sunny and now the Duster-Terrano. The pulse and the Scala did not fair that well due to second entry i.e Nissan launching earlier models hence they just looked like facelifts with different badges. But renault had its biggest share of success with the introduction of the Duster before nissan could launch the Terrano. The Small SUV sold like hot cake but again for a limited time due to poor after sales service. In 2014 Renault plans to launch an MPV and a sedan but again its very difficult to say anything it can be a hit or a flop .

9)Nissan: The Nissan has had a good share of success with the Micra specially with the launch of the Diesel. The Sunny however never faired that well due to very tight competition in the segment. The Nissan has launched the Terrano which is almost similar to the Duster, now nissan has always taken the cake by introducing its previous models before Renault but here i feel i made a mistake by introducing this one second it has also launched the Evalia in competiton to MUV but again has not faired that well.Again due to poor after sale service the sale of nissan are taking a hit. The year 2014 looks the same for nissan.

10)Tata: One of the World leading industries some how does not do good when it comes to making cars. Tata has a wide range of products but lack the Design, The quality and the technology that is required for the present day world and also to mention the horrible after sales service and the poor resales.Tata had some success with the introduction of the Aria and The Safari Storme later on but again for a short time.The Nano did try to revive the company but some how was not able to lift it up that much. Tata has a wide range of products in line up for 2014 launching the Indigo, indica in CNG also introducing the Nano in CNG & Diesel and the Aria in automatic but again this is not enough for tata to revive it will require a whole ne design and tchnolgy not to mention the quality also and the Service centres to back them up.

11)Skoda: The Czec manufacturer under the ownership of VW have launched some really good cars.Skoda has enjoyed its share with the octavia since its launch on 2002 till 2006 where the laura was launched. The quality and finish of all the cars have been perfect but due to the poor after sales service for which skoda is famous and the heavy maintenance cost of the vehicles only selected people buy these cars. The VRS badge had brought great success to the sales during its launch in 2004 but somehow the laura Vrs could not stand upto that.With decent sales of the new superb which has hit the sales of the Honda accord and Decent sales of Laura ( Now Discontinued) Skoda is enjoying a stable market. Now the launch of the New Octavia looks very promising and the designs are very new and fresh and with wide range of engine options Skoda should generate some decent sales this year and also from the expected refreshed Fabia .

12)Volkwagen: Volkswagen has enjoyed the limelight right from its launch in 2009 with the Polo. The launch of the vento in 2010 just put a cherry on the top. it was also a big blow to honda on their face. With decent sales on the upper end with the Jetta and the passat. Volkswagen is enjoying the market. But with recent competiton in mind i wont think that it will last for a long time.Now with the expected launch of the VW Up,the VW Taigun and the refreshed VW Jetta i feel it should turn the table again in the side of VW. With decent After sale service and resale this should be a good year for VW.

13) Toyota: Finally the Toyota, the most reliable brand in the world. It has a decent line up of cars for sale with the best reliability available in the market. Toyota had a good succes with the launch of Corolla & Qualif back in 2001. But Toyota had the biggest success in india with the launch of the Innova in 2005. Toyota was the unbeaten champion in this segment for 5 years till 2010 which i suppose was a small threat to Innova. if seen properly toyotas success was only due to the Innova rest of the cars were just sold in few numbere but innova was sold in 10 times the number.Once i asked in a showroom the sales figure of the showroom they told me that in a month 80 cars are sold out of which 70 are innovas and the 10 are the rest. The Launch of the Fortuner was also a bif success in its range but the sales were pretty less in that segment. The Etios and the Etios Liva were introduced but they could not help toyota in sales. Now the Toyota face lots of competiton from other companies introducing cars at almost half the price of an innova but still toyota are trying all the tricks trying to revive the beast. This year with the new launch of Facelifted innova i doubt it will make any impact as the competition is too tight.

Now i might have missed many cars in this topic but at the moment these are the ones that i could remeber.

Now again this is my opinion so please do not take it as an offence.

I have observed one thing in my life uptill now that no matter how much features you add to the car or how much you redesign it there will be only few people interested in all this majority of the people only look for the following things

1) Good After Service
2) Low Maintenance & Good Rliability
3) Good After Sales

These three are the most important points people look for rest all varies up and down. Considering these facts there are only three manufacturers which rule these segments according to me in India they are

a) Toyota
b) Honda
c) Maruti

And around the world i have seen just two the Toyota & Honda

No doubt the others will affect their sales but still these 3 will always be constant the rest will have their numbers going up and down.

Thanks to all of those who have read this completely.
Enjoy driving.

 

[cruiser]

Coming to new car lauches in 2014-15 than we must agree that there is lot of excitement going to happen. As mostly all companies will bringing some new products.
But the most anticipated and worth a wait products would be from maruti, honda, toyota, hyundai and skoda.

Maruti bringing in compact suv which is hyped now and will have to see how it will fare against ecosport and duster/terrano.

Honda's excitement would be with the new city they bringing in and that too with a diesel heart which will win many hearts in real, though late it is pitching in the car perfectly and now just seems to be that they keep the price under check and dont bring the cider type model here as the cider which unveiled in china is not at all a looker and doesnt appeal either. There are also news of diesel automatic coming in and if so it will be winning situations for honda as people here need badly good automatic cars with diesel engines and honda has that tech to provide.

Toyota will bring in the all new corolla in 2014 and it will be a great car with already established corolla brand in india and it has grown drastically within years and in models and as the new one is more stylish and featuristic toyota doesnot have to worry with the sales as they will get good number of customers as they are already well established and famous with their ASS.

Skoda is in news with bringing the european rapid in 2014. If it happens than there is no stopping for it. It looks so classy with great interiors and best fit and finish. They have the best engine and gearbox combination with them and if they provide them in a exciting way than it is going to be hit among the masses. If they bring DSG with diesel than it will be a great car to buy as we will get german build with performance and efficiency.

Hyundai is already on success with grand i10 and it will just go further with the awaited launch of diesel automatic. As urban people need the automatic, as with petrol the mileage is too less so the running costs are too high but with diesel it will be of no issue as running costs will be under check and the convinience of auto box will be provided so it will just like icing on the cake. I think grand has the ability to top the charts as best city commute vehicle.

These 5 products will just excite the little dull market and will bring the spice back into the industry i think.

 

[manojodungat]

• Whoever launches SUVs with uniqueness and VFM will fare well at least in the initial phase.
• With more launches in line, the SUV market could get saturated and the thirst of unstoppable SUV lovers might get quenched in 2014, to some extend.
• Even with the introduction of Jeep brand and the likes of Jeep Wrangler, I don't see Fiat attracting masses other than enticing auto-enthusiasts.
• The Honda Jazz based Urban SUV expected at 8-14L bracket would definitely stir the SUV market of ours.We Indians are unstoppable when it comes to SUVs.
• The Brio based MPV expected at 6-10Lakh won't be left unnoticed if it comes with similar dimensions of that of Ertiga. If Honda goes ahead and surprises us with a longer version straight against Innova, nothing else can get better and more exciting.
• For some reasons, I predict a decline in the demand for Ecosport soon. With more competition and not so premium A.S.S, coupled with certain niggles reportedly cropping up of late, it could only get tougher in the future.
• Not sure whether Manza CS and Nano facelift would do any good to lift Tata from the hole they are in at present as far as the passenger car section is concerned. Don't be surprised if Tata goes different and launches 4x4 versions of Storme in the lower variants for good.
• With the XUV 5OO W4 and the Scorpio Facelift, they should gain some of the lost grounds and continue dominating in the SUV territory.
• Innovas even with an additional burden of the new but ugly front grill and Fortuners should continue to find takers in spite of being ridiculously overpriced.
• Altos and Swifts will continue to sell in good numbers irrespective of the competition. If launched, Maruti Suzuki XA alpha could make the life of not just the Ecosport but also the mid-size sedans miserable.

 

[Godfather]

Excellent thread Raja,

Since most of you have indicated about the movers and shakers for next year i would be interested to predict who will rule the roost here.

When i say who is the most powerful OEM it means who can derive the maximum mileage from existing product lines and new launches. The top 3 slots will remain unchanged with Maruti, Hyundai & Mahindras enjoying a comfortable seat. The next 4 spots will see some changes (currently Tata, Toyota, Ford & Honda). Out of these 4 players i am sure that it will be Honda who will emerge as a clear winner with a host of new launches (Jazz, Mobilio, City) including diesel variants. These powerful products could potentially make Honda the No.4 OEM in Indian Automotive market (+3 positions) which is quite a significant change. This can happen only if Honda decides to bring these cars at an aggressive pricing point which i am sure they does.

Though Maruti will have new A-star, face lifted swift, next gen SX4 it does not make them capture significant market share. So in my opinion its going to be Honda who will rule 2014.

NB: I think we all forgot about Datsun Go which will be launched early next year. This one should be a clear winner and definitely Alto, Wagon-R, eon, beat etc will take some beating. My confusion is will Datsun sales be shown under Datsun or will Nissan absorb the sales?

 

[tai_newbie]

@Raja - You are spot on. The competition for the top spot will tighten up and the contenders are hyundai, Honda and maruthi.

 

[Turbo_Boss]

Hey nobody mention the Ssangyong brand!

Ssangyong is under Mahindra and they have a very nice Rexton W

Any comments?

THX

Isaac