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India August 2019: Renault Triber, Kia Seltos land with a splash in devastated market (-30.6%)

The Renault Triber is one of 3 high profile launches in India in August…

New light vehicle wholesales in India are stuck in a devastating rut: down another painful -30.6% year-on-year in August – the steepest fall in over a decade – to an estimated 197.735 units, the lowest result for the month in 6 years (since 2013), marking a 5th consecutive double-digit decline and leading to a year-to-date volume down -15% to 1.953.811, the lowest at this stage of the year since 2016. Poor consumer sentiment, expensive credit as well as purchases held off in the wake of a switch to BS6 emission standards have led to high inventories at dealerships and triggered the current imploding market conditions. However the rate of new launches hasn’t slowed down as we’ll see further down.

…alongside the Kia Seltos…

In the brands ranking, Maruti (-36%) falls even faster than the market which means it remains below the symbolic 50% share milestone both this month at 47.1% but now also YTD at 49.9%. Hyundai (-16.6%) on the other hand manages to drop at almost half the market rate, bumping its market share to 19.3% and followed at a distance by Mahindra (-24.2%), Toyota (-24.3%), Honda (-51.3%) and Tata (-60.3%) falling faster as we go down the ranking. Even though it chose the least opportune timing to launch in India, Korean manufacturer Kia lands with a bang directly at #7 with 3.2% share, distancing such established carmakers as Renault (-13%) limiting its fall thanks to the arrival of the Triber (see further down), Ford (-31.4%) or Volkswagen (-30.8%). Finally MG crosses the 2.000 monthly sales mark and holds 1% of the Indian market for its 2nd month of sales at #11.

…and the Maruti XL6.

Model-wise, the Maruti DZire (-39.6%), leader over the Full Year 2018, reclaims the top spot for the first time since last March and only the 2nd time in the past 13 months, yet the Maruti Alto (-54.5%) down to a paltry 5th place in August, remains out of touch in the 2019 YTD order with 144.530 units (-14.5%) vs. 130.728 (-30.5%) for the DZire. The Maruti Swift (-34.9%), Wagon R (-16.5%) and Baleno (-37.5%) complete a Top Five 100% Maruti. Below the Hyundai Grand i10 (-18.2%) back up 8 spots on July, the Hyundai Venue remains above 9.000 wholesales and confirms it is the new #1 SUV in India, over 2.000 units above the Maruti Vitara Brezza (-46.4%) up 3 ranks on last month to reclaim a spot in the Top 10 at #10, while the Maruti Ertiga (+138.7%) continues to evolve at much higher levels than a year ago.

The MG Hector (aka Baojun 530) crosses the 2.000 sales milestone in India.

Despite the challenging market conditions, there are no less than 3 high potential new launches in India in August. The Kia Seltos is by far the most impressive, also given it introduces the Kia brand in India: it lands directly at #12 with over 6.000 units, instantly claiming the #3 SUV spot and #1 compact SUV rank above its twin the Hyundai Creta. Then comes the Renault Triber at #23 with just under 2.500 wholesales, a breath of fresh air the French carmaker had been needed ever since the Kwid (-60.5%) started losing steam. The Triber lands at #4 in the MUV segment below the Maruti Ertiga, Toyota Innova Crysta and Mahindra Bolero. Finally we have the Maruti XL6 at #24 with over 2.300 units, landing just below the Triber in the MUV segment. Among continuing new launches, the Toyota Glanza breaks (a rebadged Maruti Baleno) breaks its volume record at 2.322 as does the MG Hector at 2.018.

Previous month: India July 2019: Maruti Wagon R #1 for the first time, Hyundai Venue #1 SUV, MG lands in 4th double-digit market drop in a row (-30.2%)

One year ago: India August 2018: Tata soars 28% in 2nd straight market decline (-2.6%)

Full August 2019 Top 25 All-brands and Top 100 models below.

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