The 5 most-selling hatchbacks in India.

Car sales data of June suggest a slowdown in almost every segment but there are still some that have maintained sales and the title of being the most popular cars in India.

Sale of petrol cars suffered the most with the price of petrol going through the roof. Diesel cars were also hit after the government raised its price also.

Brand value, good features, good after sales and spares, reasonable prices, value for money and last but not the least good mileage made these cars more popular than the rest. While some of these hatchbacks have been around for years, a few were recent additions.

Maruti Swift

Maruti Swift, an A2 segment car, along with other hatchbacks like Maruti Alto, Maruti Wagon-R, Maruti Zen, Maruti Ritz and Maruti A-Star reached a sales figure of 52,599 in June this year a growth of 2.3 per cent over June 2010.

The reasons why Maruti Swift ropes in good sales figures compared to other cars such as Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo, Tata Indica and Chevrolet Beat are its brand value, track record and value for money besides mileage.

Maruti Swift was launched in January 2009.

Its image got a boost thanks to its 85bhp engine with turbocharger, which gave a mileage of 12.8kmpl in the city and 16.6 kmpl on the highways.

The Maruti Swift price ranges between Rs 409,000 and Rs 556,000 ex showroom in New Delhi.

Volkswagen Polo

Launched in May 2010, the Volkswagen Polo is now over a year old and is available in both petrol and diesel variants in the price range of Rs 457,000 to Rs 706,000.

The Volkswagen Polo petrol returns a mileage of 17.0 kmpl just less than Liva and Nissan Micra that delivers a mileage of 18kmpl.

Polo's strengths lie in its awesome looks, interiors and brand value.

Polo clicked a sales figure of 2,679 units in June out of a total of 5,397 Volkswagen cars sold in India in June this year.

Ford Figo

Introduced in February 2010, Ford Figo has touched a year-over-year growth of 53 per cent in June and recently reached 100,000 sales mark.

Good space, powerful engine, large boot and a big car drive feel has considerably pushed Figo sales in India.

The diesel version undoubtedly delivers unmatched performance.

Ford Figo petrol price ranges between Rs 359,000 to Rs 462,000 while the diesel version starts at Rs 493,000 ex showroom.

Figo is in competition with the newly launched Toyota Etios Liva, Maruti Swift, Volkswagen Polo, Maruti Ritz, Fiat Punto and Tata Indica primarily.

Ford as a brand has the highest backing for Figo in terms of sales.

Besides, its after sale service, and spares network are also considerably good.

Toyota Etios Liva

Liva, the 'Lively and Live Life to the fullest' car brings the 'Q' Class experience from Etios and offers QDR standard - Quality, Durability and Reliability at a price range of Rs 399,000 to Rs 600,000.

Launched on June 27 the 79bhp Liva returns a mileage of 18.31 kmpl as per ARAI.

Liva also comes with a 3-year, 100,000-kilometers conditional warranty.

Toyota is also thinking of bringing in a diesel variant of Liva in the coming months. Toyota's brand value besides spacious interiors and looks of Liva are its plus points.

The diesel variant is highly anticipated to further the sales of Liva.

Tata Indica Vista

Tata cars are next to Maruti or perhaps the first preference in terms of diesel cars.

Known for its sturdy nature and long life just like Maruti cars, Tata Indica Vista is a new avatar of Tata Indica.

New body style, new interiors, larger boot are some of the changes made to Indica to make it Vista.

The Vista Aqua has a new 1.3L Quadrajet Fiat engine that churns out 75 PS and delivers 18 kmpl on the highways.

Some users have in fact reported 22 kmpl mileage.

With the improved engine and new platform, the Vista has gained importance and is as maintenance free as any other car contrary to Tata Indica that needs frequent maintenance checks.

The Nano: Big news about a tiny car

One small step for Tata, one giant leap for autokind?

So what's the car of a million dreams across India?

If Tata Motors has it right, it will be the Nano: a cut-rate engineering marvel with a rear engine and front trunk space. Oh, and a price tag of about $2,000.

The tiny Nano will lack many of the standard accoutrements of cars in the West.

It won't have airbags or back-seat safety belts. There won't be power steering or an anti-lock brake system. But with a base price of 100,000 rupees, middle-class India may just stampede its way to car-dealerships when orders for the Nano begin in mid-April.

“The euphoria over the Nano is unmatched,” said Premanand Shenoy, chief executive of the Prerna Motors, a Tata dealer in Bangalore. “We have already held staff meetings on how to handle the thousands of people expected to walk in that day.”

The Nano project took off after Ratan Tata — the famed chairman of the Indian conglomerate that spans salt, steel and software — promised to build a “people’s car" for the masses now driving two-wheelers.

In India’s traffic-clogged city roads, millions ride on scooters and motorcycles — with sometimes as many as four or five people hanging precariously to the same vehicle.

The Nano aims to fulfill middle-class India’s desire to own a car, helping the not-so-rich claw their way up another rung of prosperity. Analysts estimate that latent demand for a low-priced car could boost the Indian car market's size by 65 percent, even in the face of a slowing economy.

Nirupa Venkatesh, a Bangalore-based dentist, is eager to order the Nano as the family’s second car. She and her husband, a gynecologist, already own a Toyota SUV.

“I want the Nano because it is cheap and (the) best,” said Venkatesh, who like many price-conscious Indians wants a no-frills product. She will use the car to shop, run errands and drop her 9-year old daughter off at school.

Hyundai i10 Achieves New Milestone, Records Fastest 3 Lakh Sale

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. India’s second largest passenger car manufacturer and the largest exporter today achieved yet another key milestone in its decade old journey in India by clocking the fastest three lakh i10 sales since its launch on 31st October, 2007.



Of the three lakh i10 cars sold, over 1.44 lakh cars have been sold in the domestic market and around 1.56 lakh units were exported to over 100 countries across Latin America, European Union, Middle East and South East Asia. Hyundai i10 has achieved the fastest 3 lakh sales in a very short span of time which is the fastest amongst its competitors. The ‘Made in India’ car from Hyundai’s stable went global in December, 2007 when it was unveiled at the Bologna Motor Show, Italy and since then its total export orders have reached a remarkable 150,000 plus units in just over15 months.

Speaking on this momentous occasion Arvind Saxena, Sr VP, Marketing & Sales, HMIL said “Hyundai Motor India Ltd has constantly focused on providing the best for its customers be it design, technology or the best value for money proposition. And the resounding success of the i10 just proves that our customers value these parameters as well and have reinforced our belief that, if we provide the best, we will always be on the fore front be it the domestic or the overseas market. The i10 which meets the stringent safety and emission norms even in the European market has become an undoubted segment leader in both the domestic and overseas market and I sincerely thank our customers in India and in over 100 countries across the world for choosing to drive Hyundai i10.”

The customers and the automotive media were both equally impressed by the i10 when it was launched and the media which backed its belief by conferring upon the i10 all the ‘Car of the Year 2008’ awards making it the first car to win all the Car of the Year awards including the coveted ‘Indian Car of the Year’ (ICOTY) from a jury comprising of the most respected automotive journalist in India – the i10 truly has become a global car.

Audi appoints five new dealerships in India

Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, announced on Friday the appointment of five new dealerships at Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata expanding its dealership network to 12 locations across the country.

"Audi has received an overwhelming response in India. Our sales growth in first eight months of this year has been over 190 per cent. The announcement of the new dealerships is the commitment to a great future for the brand in India", says Benoit Tiers, Managing Director of Audi India. He added, "We are expanding to 12 exclusive and luxurious Audi dealerships in India. This will give customers the possibility to experience our models, the Audi world and premium service."

Audi Ahmedabad (Nixynova Motoren), Audi Chennai (Jubilant Enpro), Audi Kochi (Patel Cars), Audi Kolkata (Imperial Auto) and Audi Ludhiana (Olympus Motors) dealerships will be among the largest luxury car showrooms in their cities. The showrooms will have separate modern Audi workshop to service all Audi models. However, the dealerships have already started operating from their sales offices.

"In addition to the five newly appointed dealers, the Audi model range of Audi A8, Audi Q7, Audi A6, Audi A4 and Audi TT is available at present in seven dealership showrooms across the country: in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Gurgaon," Tiers mentioned.

Maruti India Sales Falls First Time in Five Months

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., maker of half the cars in the country, said sales fell for the first time in five months in August as higher interest rates and inflation damped demand.

Sales fell 9.2 percent last month to 59,908 cars, vans and sport-utility vehicles, the New Delhi-based unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. said in a statement today. That was Maruti's biggest decline in monthly sales since Feb. 2006, according to Bloomberg Data.

Interest-rates at a seven-year high and the fastest inflation rate in 16 years are squeezing consumer spending in India. Slowing growth may undermine a government target of tripling car sales to 3 million vehicles annually by 2015.

"Condition for auto sales have been deteriorating,'' said Mahantesh Sabarad, an analyst with Centrum Broking Pvt. in Mumbai, who has an "accumulate'' rating on the stock. "there has been a substantial increase in interest rates and fuel prices also went up.''

More than half of the vehicles sold in the nation are bought on credit. Maruti said domestic sales fell 10.2 percent to 54,113 vehicles in August. Exports gained one percent to 5,795.

Maruti, 54 percent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor, fell 2.1 percent to 635.9 rupees at 10:36 a.m. in Mumbai trading.

New car sales strategy from Maruti-Suzuki

In the wake of decline in car sales owing to rising inflation, Maruti Suzuki Motors is now amending its marketing strategies. It is working out many plans to increase the car sales and has tied up with different car dealers across the country.

Car Sales in India is witnessing a dip and the reason is rising inflation. The competition to position strongly in the Indian car market segment is getting very tough.

During this period of high inflation, Indian auto leader, Maruti Suzuki Motors is amending its marketing strategies. The company is turning to 15-20-year-old cars to drive new car sales.

The company is working out many plans to increase the car sales and has tied up with different car dealers across the country. And as a part of the strategy, the car dealers have been asked to dispose old cars that they get in exchange of new cars.

The company is also providing an exchange discount of about Rs 40,000.

The old car will be placed for occasion to scrap car dealers. The company feels that this bidding of old cars will benefit their pre-owned car business popularly known as True Value.

The exchange offer has churned out positive results in Maruti car sales. The sales figure revealed a hike of 12 per cent to 20 per cent, resulting in promotion of entry level car models like Alto.

Maruti is now completely relaying on the ‘old for new exchange’ scheme for the sales. May be we would soon see other car makers joining the race.