New campaigns rev up their marketing pitch, while new challengers such as Tata Motors with the Zest promise to put up a spirited fight
Maruti Alto or Hyundai Eon? The comparison is here!
Sensing stiff competition from Maruti Suzuki with the all-new Alto 800 with an aggressive price tag, Hyundai and Tata Motors announced deep price cuts and launch of new special edition variants, respectively to beat the market leader.
According to the latest data from SIAM, in the top 10 best passenger vehicles, Maruti's Alto retained the top position last month
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India witnessed a marginal growth in May on account of high base effect and muted demand due to general elections. The overall passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers stood at 350,257 lakh units last month as compared to 335,436 in the same month a year ago, registering a growth of 4 per cent.
The latest Hyundai i20 is an exciting car, given the overall drive experience, transmission, ride quality and tech. And while it may not be as low cost as a Maruti or come with the "heavy German steel-feel" of the Volkswagen, it does carve out a niche for itself at pole position with a combination of technology, styling, drive and ride comfort, and low cost of ownership, says Pavan Lall.
Smart positioning, continued communication and a global design language have played a big role, say experts
The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission on Thursday advised auto giants Maruti and Hyundai not to target each other in advertisements and asked Maruti to file its reply to a complaint filed by its rival carmaker.
The company said its domestic sales increased by 0.7 per cent at 56,411 units as against 56,000 units in June last year. It said the A2 segment, comprising Alto, Zen Estillo, Wagon R and Swift registered a marginal growth of 0.3 per cent at 37,767 units, against 37,646 units in the same month last year.
Maruti Suzuki India growing by a paltry two per cent in January, recorded the lowest growth in this financial year, which could be due to the launch of Tata's Nano.
Maruti is now at a market share of 50.4%, up from 47.3% last year. In China, the world's biggest market, Volkswagen is the largest, with a share of 17%. In America, the second biggest, GM is leader with 18%. One exception is South Korea, where Hyundai has a market share in excess of 60%.
The company will showcase the Ioniq electric vehicle at the Auto Expo that begins next week.
Automobile exports from India rose 15.5 per cent year-on-year in the June quarter with all verticals, barring three-wheelers, recording growth in shipments, according to the latest SIAM data. Overall shipments stood at 11,92,577 units in the first quarter the current fiscal year, as compared with 10,32,449 units in the same period of the last fiscal. Passenger vehicle exports stood at 1,80,483 units in the first quarter, registering a jump of 19 per cent over 152,156 units in the same period last year.
Unprecedented bribery charges, farewells, separation, failed union, monumental mergers and record-breaking IPOs, along with a healthy dose of online happenings in the form of spat and lessons in customer care, corporate India saw it all in 2024.
Tata Motors is looking to consolidate its position in the SUV segment as it marks its entry into the highly competitive mid-size space which is currently dominated by South Korean and Japanese carmakers. The Mumbai-based auto major on Monday launched midsize SUV coupe Curvv with petrol and diesel powertrains with a price starting at Rs 9.99 lakh. The company has already unveiled the electric version of the model in August.
Passenger vehicle wholesales saw a marginal growth of 4 per cent in June on account of high base effect and muted demand due to severe heatwave conditions in several parts of the country. Overall passenger vehicle dispatches last month stood at 340,784 units, a growth of 3.67 per cent compared with 328,710 units in June 2023.
Hyundai Motors India, the country's second-largest car firm, launched the diesel version of its top-end sedan Sonata Embera tagged at an introductory price of Rs 14.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
Hyundai, which is also toeing Maruti's lines, said special schemes are offered to engage the cab aggregators, including annual-maintenance-contract packages and extended warranty.
Good sowing of kharif crops, better minimum support prices, and fewer Covid-19 cases (in villages) will help the rural growth story to continue, says Maruti.
Meanwhile, the company on Wednesday launched an advanced version of its mid-sized Verna sedan, priced at Rs 6.56 lakh-Rs 9.22 lakh (ex showroom Delhi).
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India increased 4 per cent year-on-year in May to 3,47,492 units, as compared to the same month last year, industry body SIAM said on Tuesday. Overall passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches from companies to dealers stood at 334,537 units in May 2023.
Adding a new dimension to the ongoing price war, Hyundai Motor India on Thursday introduced the export variant of its premium hatchback, Getz GLE, in the Indian market priced at Rs 415,000.
Hyundai eyes sales of three lakh units this year.
Declaring a price war against rival Maruti's Swift, Hyundai Motors India Ltd launched its new premium hatchback Getz Prime, starting from Rs 3,89,000.
koda Auto India is set to drive in a new car by the first half of next year to reach its target of 100,000 unit annual sales in the country by 2026. The compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) will be positioned against the likes of Maruti Brezza, Hyundai Venue, and Kia Sonet, and would be competitively priced, a senior company official said. koda will also export the car to right-hand-drive markets like Australia, New Zealand and the Asean nations.
Passenger vehicle majors like Hyundai, Tata Motors, M&M, Toyota Kirloskar and Honda on Wednesday reported growth in domestic sales in August riding on festive sentiments, although market leader Maruti Suzuki posted a decline amid a semiconductor shortage affecting the industry. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) reported domestic sales at 110,080 units, as compared to 116,704 units in the same month last year, down 6 per cent. "Sales volume of the company in August 2021 was affected due to electronic components shortage.
Hyundai, has a share of about 16% and grew sales by less than 4% in April- May 2017-18
The car, the cheapest in its category, will compete against the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, the Honda Amaze, the Hyundai Xcent and the Tata Motors Indigo CS.
Hyundai Motor India on Thursday hiked prices of its various cars, including Santro and Sonata by upto Rs 10,700.\n\n\n\n
Seven auto companies lost share in the current year because of different reasons.
The company, which is slated to introduce a new compact car later this year, is also mulling taking on Maruti Suzuki's Dzire and Honda Cars India's Amaze with a new sub-four metre sedan.
Maruti Suzuki India is eyeing a leadership position in the SUV segment as it continues to add new products across various sub segments, a top company official said on Wednesday. The country's largest carmaker has bolstered its presence in the high volume entry and mid level SUV segments with new Brezza and all new model -- Grand Vitara. "In every segment except SUV, we are the market leader by a distance. "It is only in the SUV that we are behind, so we need to catch up. Clearly, we have to become number one in the SUV space also," Maruti Suzuki India MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said in an interaction on the sidelines of the global unveiling of Grand Vitara.
Hyundai has started to build one of two new factories planned for China.
Sales of the Maruti's mini-segment cars such as M800, A-Star, Alto and WagonR, fell by 15.87 per cent
India's second-biggest carmaker Hyundai Motor India on Thursday said it planned a price hike in April this year due to rising input costs.
Though both brands belong to the same parent company, Hyundai has issued strict directives to dealer partners to withdraw their applications
Maruti Udyog Ltd, India's largest carmaker, unveiled on Thursday a new-look Zen, without tinkering with the price, to take on competition posed by Hyundai's Santro and Tata Motors' Indica.
The car starts at Rs 4.66 lakh.
Among the key concerns of the Street is market share losses in growth segments, led by higher competitive pressures.
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