Comparing new car sales figures between 2010-11 to the last fiscal year (FY 2014) highlight the change in car buying trend in India. Popular hatchbacks such as the Hyundai i10, Maruti Wagon R and Ford Figo saw their sales numbers shrink by nearly 45 percent in this period. In a segment below, where the Maruti Alto and Hyundai Eon are placed in, sales dropped by 14.5 percent.
In stark comparison, the compact sedan segment (Maruti Dzire, Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent) reported growth of 55 percent, and the premium hatchback segment (Maruti Swift, Hyundai Grand i10) saw demand increase by 31 percent.
Marketing heads of car companies say that the entry level segment saw sales dipping as first time car buyers held back their decision to purchase. Also, the premium hatchback segment and the compact sedan segment has seen a lot of activity in new car launches, whereas the entry level segment has been a bit dull. For example, in the compact sedan segment, two of the three cars (Amaze and Xcent) were launched in the last 16 months.
Maruti's COO, Mayank Pareek, said that post elections, entry level car sales is increasing as first time car buyers are confident about purchasing. Last month, Maruti's top selling products were the Alto and Wagon R with sales of 30,499 units and 17,119 units respectively.
[Source - Economic Times]
