Maruti Baleno to Hyundai Grand i10, top 10 car brands in India get stronger

When it comes to popular cars, Indian consumers are sticking to pretty much the same models this year as they did last year. The top 10 car models in terms of volumes so far this fiscal are the same ones as they were in the same period last financial year; perhaps indicating that these top car brand in the domestic market continue to get stronger and gain market share.

As expected, India's largest passenger car player Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) has the most number of models in the top 10 - at seven, followed by two models from Hyundai Motor India and one from Renault.

Data collected from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) shows that Maruti's bellwether car for years now stays strong in the No. 1 spot. Its sales rather grew an impressive 16.7 per cent between April to August 2017 over the same period last year on a high base of 92,970 units. The Alto brand launched in 2000 has crossed over 100,000 units in sales so far this year and continues to engage the customer.

Maruti's Baleno too has shown impressive growth, clocking almost 75 per cent year on year growth to 77,559 units this fiscal. Baleno sales were limited by capacity constraints which have eased out considerably after Suzuki Motors Gujarat's Mandal plant came onstream in February-March this year. In the third spot came in another popular MSIL brand Swift growing by 20 per cent.

Maruti posted robust sales figures of 152,000 units in passenger vehicles (PVs) in August, taking its market share to 50.87 per cent.

Hyundai's hatchback Grand i10 and the premium hatch Elite i20 have grown by 3.5 per cent and 11 per cent respectively year on year. Both the models have slipped a few spots though.

The Renault Kwid sales have faltered this year, dropping 21 per cent. It is the only car in the top 10 brands that has seen sales slip, but it still made it to the Top 10. Its ranking, however, slipped from the seventh spot in FY17 to 10th spot in FY18.
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Hyundai to launch 2017 Xcent on April 20, bookings open

Korean automaker Hyundai will launch its compact sedan Xcent on April 20. The 2017 Xcent will be a cosmetic upgrade of the old model, much like what the Grand i10 received in February, according to a report published in The Hindustan Times.

So while the 2017 Xcent will get a face of the new Grand i10, the rear will receive more than just more curves. Reports said the tail lamp will be a bigger, two-part cluster, and the bumper will be entirely revised.

Hyundai dealerships have already started accepting bookings for the Xcent facelift for a token amount of Rs 11,000. The Hyundai Xcent facelift will get a wider, more pronounced grille compared to the previous iteration. The front and rear bumper design will be tweaked, and similar to the new Grand i10, the fog lamp will get a revised housing. In addition, LED DRLs will be offer on the top-end variants. The side profile is not expected to get a substantial update except for a revision in the alloy-wheel design, according to Overdrive.

Also Read: Hyundai launches updated Grand i10 at Rs 4.58 lakh

The Hyundai Xcent facelift is expected to be priced around Rs 6.50-8.40 lakh, futher reported Overdrive.

The interiors of the Xcent may also get an upgrade like the new Grand i10, where the 2-din integrated audio system was replaced by a 7–inch touchscreen infotainment system, as in the new Grand i10, Hindusatn Times said.

Under the bonnet, the petrol motor will remain the same – 1.2-litre generating 82PS @ 6000 rpm and 114 Nm torque @ 4000 rpm, when mated to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic gearbox.

The company on Wednesday released a new 2017 variant of its premium hatchback Elite i20 and rolled out two more variants of its best-seller compact SUV Creta, said the national daily. (READ MORE)

Maruti may inch closer to 50% market share with Ignis, new plant

Latest Business News - The country’s biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki, which now sits on a share of over 47 per cent in the expanding domestic passenger vehicle (cars, vans and utility vehicle) market, could see its pie inch towards the 50 per cent mark in FY18. The new triggers behind this will be the commencement of operations at Gujarat plant next month and today's launch of Ignis, expected to be another volume model.

Aimed to lure the young buyers in urban India, the premium compact car Ignis (petrol) has been priced attractively at Rs 4.59 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). It will compete with nearest rivals, Hyundai’s i10Grand and M&M’S KUV100, which begin at Rs 4.95 lakh and Rs 4.58 lakh, respectively. Ignis, like its two competitors, will be available in both petrol and diesel variants. The Ignis diesel will begin at a price of Rs 6.39 lakh. The top end models for petrol and diesel Ignis are priced at Rs 6.30 lakh and Rs 7.46 lakh, respectively.

Ignis, the company’s first new launch in the current financial year, has been developed with an investment of over Rs 950 crore and has a high local content of 98.5 per cent. The car will be manufactured at the company’s plant in Gurgaon. If the success of Maruti’s last two launches (Baleno in September 2015 and Brezza in March 2016) is any indication, Ignis also looks set to be another volume driver. The company has sold over 131,000 Balenos and about 80,000 units of SUV Brezza in domestic market. The company sold about 1.3 million vehicles in domestic market during FY16 and has set itself a target to reach two million vehicles (including exports) by 2020.  Commencement of Gujarat plant will ease capacity constraint that the company currently faces.(Read More)