The month of November 2011 is finally over. With dismal projections being made at the start of the month, following increase in both fuel prices and the lending rates, it was expected that the month would be dismal for most of the car manufacturers in the country. However, some of the manufacturers managed to reverse this trend, to a certain extent, with their new products as well as innovative deals. This has given hope for a better performance to the market in the coming months. Let us take a look at the deals and performances that some leading manufacturers achieved in the month of November.
Maruti:
The leading Indian auto manufacturer had a mixed month. They were still in the process of recovering from the strike at their Manesar plant that caused them to lose out on huge revenue. The strategy of the company was simple – aggressively market their volume products. Special offers accompanied the purchase of the Swift, Alto and WagonR. The Dzire also sprung a surprise based on some good offers. The Swift experienced one of its best months in their sales history. However, the Ritz, A-star and Estilo continued losing ground.
Hyundai:
Hyundai India was the most significant gainer in November. Special offers on their newly-introduced Eon continued. The Verna, i20 and i10 continued with their cash discount offers and the result was a strong performance by all these vehicles, with the first two cars dominating their respective segments.
Tata Motors:
The best offer from the company was of course the revamped 2012 Tata Nano. The car has been given a complete overhaul with great modifications to its interiors and exteriors along with tweaking of the engine to deliver more power. They have also refined the quality of driving the car. The best part of the deal was that there was no increase in its prices – Tata Motors continued to operate all three models at same price levels.
Mahindra & Mahindra:
Mahindra & Mahindra continued selling their latest SUV, the Mahindra XUV500 at its special introductory offer of Rs.10.80 Lakh. However, with excessive demand for the vehicle, the company exhausted its four month stock and was forced to stop taking bookings for the car.
Ford:
The older model of the Fiesta, based on good discounts, continued to outsell the new Fiesta, which people have not readily accepted mainly due to its high price. This was one of the strangest scenarios within the auto market, where an older generation model outsold its newer variant.
Toyota:
The main marketing strategy of the Toyota involved round the Liva. Backed with special offers, the Liva was able to even go past the Innova to become the best selling brand of Toyota in the Indian auto market.
All the other auto manufacturers had reasonable to poor performances in the month of October.
