April marks the beginning of the new financial year and for car makers it is a significant month. With the new budget policies coming in, the buyer sentiment is often unpredictable. Luckily, for Maruti Suzuki it has been a blockbuster month but for others, the sailing has not been easy. We dig in to the numbers to find out which cars went higher on sales numbers and which of them managed to slide. Take a look at them.
India car sales April 2017: Highs and Lows
Highs:
The Swift might be dated and due for a replacement but it still packs enough punch to knock the competition out. Maruti sold 23,802 Swift cars in April 2017 - 50 per cent more than its average sales over the last six months. And this speaks volumes about buyers’ trust in Swift as a brand which is aided by Maruti’s brand equity.
The Endeavour has taken the fight to the Toyota Fortuner by offering a big burly but at the same time, a well-engineered option in the full-size seven seat SUV segment. The Endeavour had a steep target to beat but after the initial flailing, it seems that the Ford is gaining a foothold in the Fortuner territory. With 632 units sold in April, the Endeavour is making a point for itself.
Hyundai Xcent
Hyundai’s nondescript compact sedan received a makeover last month and the new outgoing avatar seems to have won patronage from the image-conscious Indian car buyer. With close to 4,500 units sold in April 2017, the Xcent sales seem to be getting back on track. But with the new Dzire being launched later this month, we will have to wait and see if the Xcent can weather this competition.
Lows:
April 2017 has been a tough month for Honda and the biggest hit has been taken by the Honda Jazz. Only 2,061 Jazz cars were sold across the country as against the 3,000-odd cars sold in the last quarter. Looks like Honda will have to revive the Jazz sooner than expected or the Baleno will continue to shave off its market share.
Renault’s blue-eyed boy, the Kwid compact hatchback, seems to have hit a bump on its growth path after hitting the 10,000 mark in March 2017. The sales numbers are down by more than 20 per cent and it seems that the Kwid Climber has not managed to impress car buyers.
Mahindra KUV100
After a promising start, the Mahindra KUV100 numbers are slowly waning. The sales numbers are in the low 2,000s after the promising numbers in the last quarter. It does have the SUV appeal thanks to its butch design, but the hatchback lacks refinement and is low on features - the criteria which the new Indian customer holds in high regard.
