Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

The Maruti DZire is only the 5th model to ever rank #1 in India since 1950…

* See the Top 60 best-selling models and Top 14 brands by clicking on the title! *

May is the 6th month in a row of year-on-year decline for the Indian car market at -8% to 193,338 registrations, which brings the year-to-date total to 1,081,177 units, down 11% on 2012. Historical event this month in the models ranking: the Maruti DZire (aka Swift sedan) takes the lead for the very first time with sales up 32% year-on-year to 17,265 and 8.9% market share. Reversely the Maruti Alto is down 37% or 10,000 units compared to May 2012 at 16,411 and 8.5% share… To comprehend how rare such an event is, let’s point out that the Maruti Alto had been #1 in India each and every month since July 2004 except April 2012 when the Maruti Swift took the lead. That’s 105 of the last 106 months…

The Hindustan Ambassador was the first one…

In fact, the Maruti DZire may well only be the 5th vehicle to ever rank #1 in India in over 60 years! Before the Alto, the Maruti 800 led the Indian market from 1985 to 2004 and the Hindustan Ambassador did so from around 1950 until 1984. Note 1950-2004 data is not official, if you have more detail please get in touch. The new generation DZire has certainly made a huge impact with Indian consumers with the dynamic between the DZire sedan and the Swift hatchback (down 18% yoy this month) reversing itself to the profit of the sedan. Maruti is also pushing this, prioritising the more expensive DZire in their production lines.

Honda Amaze

There’s another outstanding performer in this month’s ranking: the Honda Amaze, up 5 spots on April to break into the Indian Top 10 for the very first time at #8 with a record 6,036 sales and 3.1% share. The Amaze single-handedly brings Honda to its strongest month ever in the country at 11,340 sales, passing Tata to rank 4th most popular manufacturer in India this month below Maruti, Hyundai and Mahindra… Notice also the Mahindra Scorpio breaking its ranking, volume and market share records at #11 with 5,165 sales and 2.7% and the Renault Duster down 2 to #12 but maintaining itself at a best-ever 2.7% market share. Finally, the Chevrolet Enjoy (aka Wuling Hongguang) is up 18 spots to #24 at 2,173 units for its first full month in market.

Check also: India April 2012: Maruti Swift 4th model since 1950 to rank #1!

Previous post: India: What changed in the last two years

Previous month: India April 2013: Maruti DZire threatens Alto for pole position!

One year ago: India May 2012: Maruti Swift and DZire break market share records

Full May 2013 Top 60 models and Top 14 brands Ranking Tables below.

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The Tata Nano sold 10,021 units in India in April 2011

* See the April 2011 and April 2013 Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

This article is brought to you by Auto Portal India

The Indian car market has gone through a lot of change in the last 2 years so today I thought I would put the April 2011 and April 2013 Indian models rankings side by side and extract a few long-term trends. First things first, the Maruti Alto has not moved from its pole position but is down 22% to 19,847 sales. In fact the Alto has been #1 in India every month since except exactly one year ago in April 2012 when it was toppled by the Maruti Swift. The Swift family is actually the big gainer over the period: the DZire sedan has gone from #4 with 11,797 sales two years ago to #2 and 19,446 and the Swift hatchback from #5 and 10,622 units to #3 and 16,531.

Maruti Alto 800

If two years ago Hyundai managed to place the i10 in 2nd place, Maruti now monopolises the Top 4, with the Mahindra Bolero the most popular non-Maruti model at #5 (vs. #11 in 2011). However there are 3 Hyundais in the Top 10 like in 2011: the Eon at #6, i10 at #7 and i20 at #8. One of (if not the) biggest changes in the last two years has been the fall and fall of the Tata Nano. In April 2011 the Nano sold 10,021 units (its first and only time above 10,000 monthly sales) and ranked 6th but last month it was down to 39th with just 948 sales.

Renault Duster

Renault has done the impossible and gone from virtually nothing two years ago to 6,000+ monthly sales this year, thanks to one model: the Duster which brilliantly ranked 10th last month with 5,362 units. Other newcomers in the ranking include the Maruti Ertiga at #11, Honda Amaze at #13, Chevrolet Sail Sedan at #23 and Mahindra XUV500 at #24…

Previous post: India April 2013: Maruti DZire threatens Alto for pole position!

One year ago: India April 2012: Maruti Swift 4th model since 1950 to rank #1!

Full April 2011 and 2013 Top 30 Ranking Tables: click on ‘Read more’ below.

Sponsored feature: AutoPortal.com is a new service helping to find all possible info on cars available in India. You can compare cars, view all tech specs, prices, offers of new and used cars by dealers and owners. AutoPortal also contains a large collection of hi-res photos and wallpapers of each car.

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Maruti DZire

* See the Top 60 best-selling models and Top 14 brands by clicking on the title! *

Would the Indian new car market have plateaued already? In April it is down for the 5th consecutive month at -8% year-on-year to 199,496 registrations. This brings the year-to-date total to 887,839 units, down 11% on 2012. One year ago the Maruti Swift became only the 4th model since 1950 to snap the monthly pole position. This time it’s the sedan version, the Maruti DZire, that narrowly misses that feat. It sells a magnificent 19,446 units in April for a record 9.7% market share, only 401 units below the Maruti Alto, down below 20,000 monthly sales for the first time since last August. It’s interesting to notice that this the DZire’s 2nd highest volume behind last month’s 19,446 and it’s only the 4th time ever it manages to beat the Swift after last August, September and March…

Honda Amaze

The top of the models ranking is very stable, with the Top 8 absolutely identical to the 2013 year-to-date charts. The Renault Duster manages to stay within the Indian Top 10 for the second month in a row at #10 with 5,362 sales, improving its market share to a record 2.7%. For its 2nd month in market, the Honda Amaze is up 15 ranks to #13 at 4,852 units, but this performance is at the detriment of both the Brio (-58% on March) and City (-44%)…

Chevrolet Enjoy

The Chevrolet Sail sedan is up 6 spots to #23 at a record 2,469 sales while the Tata Nano falls further into oblivion: after 3 months at a horrid 1,500 sales, it is now down 37% to just 948 units, the model’s lowest ever monthly tally and first time below 1,000 sales. It ranks #39. Finally we welcome a new model in the Indian ranking this month: the Chevrolet Enjoy at #42 with 691 units. If you are a faithful reader of BSCB you will know that this is none other than a rebadged Wuling Hongguang, currently the best-selling LCV in China!

Previous month: India March 2013: Maruti DZire breaks record, Honda Amaze lands

One year ago: India April 2012: Maruti Swift 4th model since 1950 to rank #1!

Click on ‘Read more’ below for the Full April 2013 Top 60 models and Top 14 brands Rankings.

Sponsored feature: The Ford Fiesta, raw American power designed for Indian roads!  The Ford Fiesta is a high quality, average sized sedan that was introduced in the year 2011. It is manufactured with a completely new design and is yet another description for style, ease, and high functional efficiency. The new Ford Fiesta road tests and reviews indicated that the car is one which tops in looks, safety as well as smooth drive.  

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We could see Autobianchi return as early as 2014!

* See the Full article by clicking on the title! *

With the progression of Chinese carmakers worldwide, the rise and rise of low-cost brands following the tremendous success of Dacia over the last decade is one of the most fascinating mega-trends in the car industry at the moment. For example, my worldwide January roundup stressed the fact that Renault is only keeping afloat worldwide due to the success of its Dacia models, and monthly Chinese rankings show both low-cost brands Baojun and Venucia are making their mark.

Autobianchi Siena?

Last week, German website Autobild announced that Fiat could revive Autobianchi as its low-cost brand. For a while Innocenti was whispered around but it now seems like Autobianchi is the go. Created in 1955, Autobianchi was always priced higher than equivalent Fiat models and was used to test innovative concepts which later found their way into mainstream Fiat vehicles. Guess that will have to change now! The brand was integrated into Lancia in 1989 but survived in Italy until 1995 when production of the Y10 stopped. More on the Autobianchi brand here.

1977 Autobianchi A112 Abarth

According to Autobild, the first Autobianchi model would be built in Poland and Russia and based on the Brazilian Fiat Siena, itself built on the previous generation Fiat Palio’s platform. It will be a notchback sedan targeted at Eastern European markets to go full frontal against the Dacia Logan, with prices starting at 5,000 Euros. Autobild says if these plans come to fruition we could see the first low-cost Autobianchi cars hitting the road in late 2014, which is not so far off!

2013 Datsun grille

These news come as Nissan has confirmed they are reviving the Datsun brand as their low-cost option, to be officially launched later this year. Plans are now getting more precise: in addition to India, Indonesia and Russia which were announced last year, in February South Africa was confirmed as the 4th market where the Datsun brand will be revived.

The first low-cost Datsun?

As far as Russia is concerned, last week Nissan Russia CEO Francois Goupil de Bouille announced that “the first Datsun cars will roll in Russian cities in March 2014″, with plans to sell 100,000 Datsuns annually in Russia by 2016. There will be two Russian Datsun models to start with: a notchback sedan based on the Lada Kalina and Granta platforms and a hatchback model based on the previous generation Nissan Note.

Click on ‘Read more’ below for more details on Datsun’s return.

1968 Datsun 240Z

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Honda Amaze

* See the Top 60 best-selling models and Top 14 brands by clicking on the title! *

Being the last month of the financial year, March is traditionally the year’s strongest month for new car sales in India and 2013 doesn’t look like it will be an exception. At 243,844 registrations however, the market is surprisingly down 13% on March 2012 which was, granted, the all-time record for any month in the history of automobile in India. Year-to-date, sales add up to 688,343 – a 12% drop over 2012. The Maruti Alto still reigns supreme but sees its market share slide down to 11.2% at 27,356 sales, its 4th consecutive month above 25,000 units. The Maruti Dzire is the performer of the month once again: it breaks its monthly volume record for the 2nd month in a row at 20,078 sales, becoming only the third model to ever sell more than 20,000 monthly units in India after the Maruti Alto (in March 2007 for the first time) and Swift (in February 2012).

Maruti DZire

This means the DZire manages to beat its hatchback twin the Maruti Swift for only the third time ever, however the previous two were in August and September last year when sales were disrupted by the arrival of the new generation. By the way the Swift does extremely well this month also at 19,654 sales, its best score since May 2012. Very solid performance of the Maruti Wagon R at #4 and 14,681 units while the Mahindra Bolero simply lodges its strongest ever month at 11,675 sales, the 5th time it is 10,000 units in the last 6 months.

Toyota Innova

Two additional Top 10 models beat their all-time volume record this month: the Toyota Innova is up to 8th place with 8,422 units (previous best: 6,794 in January 2012) and the Renault Duster can’t stop amazing its world, breaking into the Indian Top 10 for the first time at #10 with 6,313 sales (previous best: 5,590 last month). Notice also the Toyota Etios up to #15, its highest ranking since December 2011, the Toyota Liva up to #22 (highest since January 2012), the Honda Amaze landing directly at #28 with 2,552 sales for its first month in market and the Chevrolet Sail Sedan up 7 spots to a best-ever #29 at 2,232 units.

Previous post: BestSellingCarsBlog in India!

Previous month: India February 2013: Maruti DZire and Renault Duster hit records

One year ago: India March 2012: 12 models break records in all-time high market

Full March 2013 Top 60 models and Top 14 brands Ranking Tables below.

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If you have been a reader of this blog for a few months, you will know that the monthly Indian sales figures and commentary from BestSellingCarsBlog are featured on Indian car magazine Auto India. My dear friend Adrian who is spending some time in Delhi right now, was kind enough to 1. buy the magazine and 2. create a nice little video showing this month’s article (notice the mention of “Matt’s blog”) and panning onto the crazy Delhi traffic. Funny thing is Adrian didn’t know I was featured in the magazine so was rather surprised to read about me there! So heartwarming to see that even in India BestSellingCarsBlog is alive, so I thought I would share this video with you all. Thanks Adrian!

Previous India post: India February 2013: Maruti DZire and Renault Duster hit records

Previous India videos: India February 2013: A look into Delhi streets

Maruti Dzire

* See the Top 60 best-selling models and Top 14 brands by clicking on the title! *

This is confirmed: the Indian new car market is taking a break right now, going through its third consecutive month of year-on-year decline in February: down a surprising 17% on February 2012 which, granted, was a historical figure, to 214,298 registrations. In spite of this, the Maruti Alto lodges its third month in a row above 25,000 sales at 25,030 and 11.7% share, and the Maruti Swift is up to 19,534 sales, its best monthly score since May 2012. The Maruti DZire does even better and breaks a record at 18,316 units, its previous best being 17,707 in May 2012 also.

Renault Duster

When you add the Maruti Ertiga also built on the same platform, the Swift family delivers an astonishing 43,692 sales and 20.4% market share. I know I have spoken about this model a lot already but it keeps impressing in many countries around the globe so here goes again: the Renault Duster is up to #11 with 5,590 sales and 2.6%, all new records in India. The Tata Nano is stuck at the bottom of the ladder (#35), bringing the Tata brand down with it (-70% year-on-year and now #5 below Toyota) while the Chevrolet Sail sedan is making its way up at #36 (+9) and Renault is up 899% to #9.

Previous month: India January 2013: Maruti DZire and VW Polo shoot high

One year ago: India February 2012: Maruti Swift, DZire and Hyundai Eon hit highest ever scores in record market

Full February 2013 Top 60 models and Top 14 brands Ranking Tables below.

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My dear friend Adrian is currently spending some time in Delhi, India and was kind enough to send me a few videos of the crazy traffic in the streets over there…

Among it all you will recognise a few Hyundai Santro and Maruti Swift, as well as a very imposing grain truck… Enjoy!

Thanks again to Adrian.

A Maruti Ertiga in a bit of a predicament…

Maruti DZire

* See the Top 60 best-selling models and Top 12 brands by clicking on the title! *

The Indian new car market seems to be taking a breather at the moment, down 6% year-on-year in January to 230,204 registrations. The top of the models ranking is very stable, with the Top 5 identical to the Full Year 2012 ranking, and the Top 4 100% Maruti. The Maruti Alto sells 28,685 units, its highest monthly volume since last March, the Maruti Swift is at its strongest since last May with 18,928 sales while the Maruti DZire delivers its 2nd best monthly volume ever below last May at 17,060 units and the Maruti Wagon R is back up 10 spots on December to #4.

VW Polo

The Mahindra Bolero is down one rank to #5 but at 10,659 sales it’s its third time above 10,000 monthly units in the last 4 months. The Hyundai i20 is up 4 spots to #6, the Hyundai Verna up 9 to #14, the VW Polo is up 12 to break its ranking and volume records in India at #15 and 4,579 units. The Mahindra Quanto is still gearing up to a best-ever 2,954 sales and the Tata Safari lodges a 2,000+sales month for the first time thanks to the Storme version.

Tata Safari Storme

We welcome a new model in the Indian ranking this month: the Chevrolet Sail Sedan lands directly at #45 with 836 sales, while the SsangYong Rexton breaks into the Top 60 for the first time at #51 and 457 units. Reversely, the Tata Nano falls further down the Indian sales charts: down 32% on December and a horrid 81% year-on-year to #37 and 1,504 sales, its 2nd worst ever month after the 1,202 units it sold in November 2011.

Previous post: India Full Year 2012: Maruti Swift and DZire beat records

Previous month: India December 2012: Maruti Alto and Toyota Innova shine

One year ago: India January 2012: Nissan Sunny takes off, Renault Pulse lands

Full January 2013 Top 60 models and Top 12 brands Ranking Tables below.

Read more…

Maruti Swift

* See the All-brands ranking (incl. Mercedes, BMW and Audi) and Top 70 best-selling models by clicking on the title!  *

This Indian update is brought to you by the Nissan Micra.

Indian new car sales reach a new frontier in 2012: up 14% year-on-year to a record 2,654,835 registrations, the first time ever Indian consumers purchase more than 2.5 million cars in a single year. The Maruti Alto is the most popular model in the country for the 8th year in a row but its sales are down 8% on 2011 to 286,833 units. Its strongest 2012 month was March at 35,245 sales, below its all-time record of 38,065 in March 2011. It’s Maruti’s year, with 4 models in the Top 4 for the first time ever…

Maruti Dzire

The new generation Swift and Dzire are another 2012 Indian success story. The Swift took the lead of the monthly Indian ranking for the very first time in April and hit a record 20,739 sales in February, finishing the year up 46% to 186,797 units. The sedan version, called Maruti DZire, also kick goals. It beat its monthly sales record 3 times this year (February, March and May), bringing it to 17,707 and finishing the year at 154,273 sales, up 55% year-on-year. The Maruti Wagon R is down 2 spots to #4 and 134,823 units.

Mahindra Bolero

The Mahindra Bolero is the other star of the year, up 18% to #5 with 113,457 sales, breaking the 10,000 monthly units barrier for the first time ever in March and hitting a record 11,078 sales in October. Hyundai is still the #2 brand in the country but for the first time since 2009 it doesn’t place any model on the podium: the i10 is down 29% to #6 and the Eon hasn’t managed to shoot up above it, up to #8 with 93,578 units. Tata’s best-seller is the Indica/Vista, down 5% to #7.

Maruti Ertiga

The Hyundai i20 reached new heights in 2012: record 7,775 sales in July and best-ever #4 in August, but stays #9 over the Full Year at 85,299 units. The Tata Nano breaks into the year-end Indian Top 10 for the very first time in 2012, up 3 spots and 8% to #10 with 76,747 sales, but this is still far from the sales level necessary to make it a success. After 3 relaunches it seems Tata has exhausted the Nano’s potential…

Mahindra XUV500

Other great performers this year include the Toyota Innova up 46% to #12, the Maruti Ertiga landing directly at #16 with 59,467 units, the Hyundai Verna up 41% to #17, Mahindra XUV500 up 671% to #22 for its first full year in market and steadily gaining ground all through the year to a record #16 in December, the Tata Sumo up 46% to #25, the Honda Brio arriving at #27, Nissan Sunny at #29, Renault Duster directly at #32 and hitting an unbelievable #13 in November and December, Skoda Rapid at #33 and Mahindra Quanto at #45.

Previous post: India December 2012: Maruti Alto and Toyota Innova shine

Previous year: India Full Year 2011: Maruti Alto leads for the 7th consecutive year

More commentary, Full Year 2012 Top 70/monthly Top 50 models and All-brands Ranking Tables: click on ‘Read more’ below.

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