Are Segment Leading Car Brands Facing Competition Heat?

[Akash1886]

Friends,

I was going through our monthly sales figure thread and what caught my eye were two popular brands MSIL and Honda. On going through their sales numbers, I observed, their popular products have shown a decline in numbers. Even as I consider both these brands just as a example, do you all feel that the increase in competition and availability of better all round products have gradually begun to capture the buyers and these segment leaders are facing the heat of the competition? Do you feel its just the products or the overall perception of the people has begun to change and adopt other competitive brands in our market?

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Regards

Akash

 

[kasscon]

I can give one example which is Tiago vs Celerio & this the car from MSIL which is feeling the heat of a better competitor by Tata stable.

The second one could be Kwid vs Alto wherein Kwid took a healthy pie from Alto.

City vs Ciaz

Maybe we might see some pie taken from Brezza & WRV as well by Nexon & Ecosport

 

[Akash1886]

The second one could be Kwid vs Alto wherein Kwid took a healthy pie from Alto.

I am in line with you and man you read minds or what! I was about to mention this and you did. Yes KWID has turned around the tables in the entry hatchback segment and indeed the ALTO twins are facing a stiff competitor.

Maybe we might see some pie taken from Brezza & WRV as well by Nexon & Ecosport

As on date yes. Nexon has VFM package and so does the Eco Sport coupled with unchanged price and a bigger petrol motor. Both Nexon and Eco-Sport are extremely potent wonderful segment offerings.

Regards

Akash

 

[acechip]

Honda might be facing trouble, but it can only blame itself. Jazz/WRV should have had a 1.5 litre petrol which would have helped Honda maintain a real justification for its brand 'premium' (as dealers call it). And they should have come up with a proper independent models, instead of creating Veg Peshawari, Veg Multani, Veg Maharaja from essentially the same ingredients, i.e, (Brio/Amaze/Mobilio/BRV).
MSIL may be facing competition, but it is one of the "too big to fail" companies by now. The amount of investment and aggression it is showing to bring up newer products with modern cabin features is leaving the competition breathless. They are pampering the gullible customer silly with their touchscreens, claimed FE and what-have-you. And with their electric car foray, they may again overwhelm the market.
I dont blame them, anyone can play the same game. Mahindra had a good start in EVs. But they should have really done something more worthwhile than modifying a Verito or adding rear doors to the Reva.

And even in the mainstream, they came up with bulky, hideous looking contraptions like KUV, TUV, Nuvosport. How do they expect to achieve any decent volume ? (No offence meant to owners of these cars please-my description is only in relation to its competitors styling). Atleast someone like Tata has gotten a better grasp of the style quotient.

 

[ankathil.arjun]

I agree that the segment leaders are facing competition, but I would like to add that these are only with products that have not been updated for a while. You just cannot keep selling cars on the same platform without any significant changes and expect it to have the same demand, when the competition is offering newer products with more features.

Hyundai, for example, has been doing a good job, discontinuing older models and bringing in newer models based on the market demand. The Verna is one such example, where a new car has turned tables for its low sale in the segment.Though most of the Hyundai cars are priced on the higher side of the segments, taking into consideration their updated interior quality and looks ,people do not mind going for them over the cheaper options.

Honda on the other hand has been keeping the Brio and Amaze for quite some time, with very few updates. I agree that they did change the interiors and even changed the auto transmissions, but for cars that were already known to be odd looking and lacked rear space, they have not worked much on these.

The Alto also has remain unchanged for quite a while, and even the AMT issues being reported on the new models would be one of the reasons for people to avoid the AMT for now.

Tata has shown that they are changing their brand, and that they are no longer bringing in outdated products. They are offering class leading interior space, interior quality, ICE and good engines. The product's quality has been improving year after year with new launches. Also, their pricing is quite aggressive. They have literally forced people to turn and give their cars a second look. Earlier, Tata cars were not even considered by the family car buyers, however, after the Tiago and Nexon, I meet many people who ask me about these cars and my reviews about them.

One of the prime reasons for many to buy a Maruti was the resale value. However, I have noticed now that people are ready to invest a higher amount on car now, which they would plan to keep for longer rather than changing to a higher segment in a few years. I see many who are buying 10+ lakh rupee cars as their first car, when this was not the case earlier.

Also, the buyer now days is a much more informed buyer. Most of the buyers would do a lot of research online before buying a car. With so much information available on multiple car forums and comparison tools, the other brands are also getting the exposure that they require.

 

[hitzscofield]

The pressure on market leader and the top 2-3 players is evident. The response time has visibly increased in the last 4-5 years. The once thought of as complacent and at the brink of falling are no longer viewed as such.
David in the World Arena is the Goliath in the Indian Turf!!!

 

[kkn13]

I think its only temporary
The not-so-popular brands upped its game and brought better products than before with lesser waiting periods unlike Toyota, Hyundai, Honda and Maruti and lost a bit to Tata, Jeep, Ford
But its also because of poor variant options, high pricing and outdated engines
All these have started to change and the leading brands seem to be eager to match the competition with new launches in the coming months so this sudden "heat" is gonna vanish unless the other brands bring up their after sales, quality control and engine selections in time(unlikely)

Bharat Stage VI means all brands will rush to upgrade cars, engines etc asap