Honda – Though pretty late in joining the diesel engine party, Honda did strike the right chords last year with the Amaze. Earlier this year the sales gained momentum further with the i-DTEC engine powering the all new City. These two vehicles with both the fuel variants worked wonders as the sales chart took a monstrous avatar. The sub-continent population always loved the Honda City but some potential buyers stayed away due to the lack of a diesel engine. The 1.5-litre diesel engine lured back these buyers and put the company back in contention for the podium.
The Japanese automaker reported a growth of 75% for the month of June. Honda sold 16,316 units the previous month when compared to 9297 units in June last year; with 90% of sales coming from the new Honda City and Amaze. The City occupies the throne with 47% of Honda sales, by recording 7723 units while the Amaze stood second with 7075 units. The company managed to sell only 1438 units of the Brio while 80 numbers of the CR-V rolled out of showrooms.
Honda is expecting to clock more numbers from the second quarter of this fiscal year as they are going to launch the Mobilio this month. The Mobilio will be sharing the engines with the new City, namely the 1.5-litre i-VTEC and the 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine. The Mobilio will be locking horns with the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga.
Maruti Suzuki – The undisputed leader in the 4-wheeler market, Maruti Suzuki’s chart displayed a growth of 33.5% for June when compared to the same month in the previous year. The market leader sold 1,12,773 units last month against 84,455 units in June last year.
The best seller Swift DZire’s sales went up by 27.4% as the company sold 15,990 units of this compact sedan in June 2014, while the SX4 continued its dismal performance with 322 units being sold. The sales of SX4 have increased by a mere 2.5%, thanks to the discounts and offers being provided by dealers as the Ciaz is all set to replace it. The Omni and Eeco together put up a 41% increase in the numbers chart as 9738 of them hit the roads. The company is very positive as they are gearing up to add the Ciaz and SX4 S-Cross to their portfolio.
Ford – Just like Maruti Suzuki, the American manufacturer saw an increase in sales by 36% for June when compared to the same month of last year. The company sold 11,935 units the previous month when compared to 8771 units, the figures include those of export also. The credit for increase in sales goes to exports as the demand from other countries numbered 4677 units. The domestic figures crawled up by a dismal 1% as the company sold 7258 units in June.
The game changer for Ford, the king of compact SUVs, the EcoSport is still the hotcake in the car industry. The EcoSport clinched the market for its sub 4-metre vehicle category (which gets the benefit of excise duty) and multiple engine options. The most affordable EcoSport comes with a 1.5-litre petrol engine which generates a peak power of 112 BHP. The diesel variant is also a 1.5-litre one and produces comparatively less power at 90 BHP. The top end model shelters the 1.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost engine which generates 123 BHP of peak power. Recently the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine was named as the “Engine of the year” for the third consecutive time. No wonder why the EcoSport emerged as a clear winner.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the company launched the latest Fiesta and the car looks very promising. Ford has learnt from their old mistakes and has priced the Fiesta very aggressively this time. The new Fiesta was introduced only with the diesel power-pack, the same one which the EcoSport uses. Ford is looking forward to this model as they expect the new Fiesta to provide a breakthrough in the sedan segment.
