The C-segment sedan battle, which was very interesting last year, has now become too boring thanks to very predictive results every month.
The C-segment in the Indian auto market has a lot of options but since the last one year or so, market trends have remained fairly unchanged. Most of the options in this segment are doing consistent numbers, barring a few and now it seems that the battle is getting boring. The Honda City has always been the market leader and it continues to hold the position very well with sales that are significantly higher than other sedans. Up next, the Maruti Ciaz comes in with sales that are slightly more than half of the City’s numbers.
After the Ciaz, we have the cabbies’ favourite Toyota Etios which is known for its no-nonsense nature and bullet-proof reliability. Surprising to see that the fairly old Tata Indigo and Manza are still selling in generous numbers each month inspite of better options being made available. The Verna’s sales have remained consistent over the months and it is far behind its Japanese rivals. The Volkswagen Vento sold just 33 units in May but now that the facelift has been launched, the sedan has got back to munching numbers and its sales are just shy of the Verna’s.
The Rapid sells in fairly low numbers compared to the Vento but we expect the facelift to make things better. At the lower end of the spectrum are some of the low-sellers like the Chevrolet Sail, Nissan Sunny, Fiat Linea, Renault Scala and Ford Fiesta. While the Sail became a dud thanks to the fact that it is a bland product, the Sunny and Scala siblings just don’t feel as premium as their rivals. The Fiat Linea is outdated in front of its rivals while the Fiesta is one hell of a car that again failed to strike the right chord with buyers.
