Japanese carmakers Honda, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota into price war

Japanese carmakers Honda, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota into price war : Japanese carmakers Honda, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are aggressively resorting to a price war as they seek to push up sagging sales in India, following a fall in sales for the first time in 30 months in July.

Honda Siel, which cut Rs66,000 off its flagship City sedan last month, is set to launch a new version of its Jazz hatchback with a much more customer-friendly price tag, which according to dealership sources could be around Rs6 lakh, or over Rs1 lakh less than the previous model that was sold out last month through a huge discount offer.

Maruti Suzuki too is in the process of launching a new version of its popular premium hatchback Swift with several added features. This would include variable valve timing (VVT) for added power in the petrol engine, fibre fuel tank for lighter weight, tilt steering and indicators on side mirrors in the new version that also offers extra legroom for its passengers.

The new changes in the specs are designed to give it added punches to take on the likes of Polo and i20 that boast more features than the outgoing Swift. The car is due to be launched on 17 August, but the company is largely holding the price line.

Toyota's entry-level Etios sedan has already been introduced along with the Liva priced at Rs3.99 lakh. Liva is priced much cheaper that its competition like Maruti Swift and Skoda Fabia.

According to some analysts, the market has seen some rapid changes following Toyota's killer pricing of its new Etios, and then Honda following suit with its hot selling cars. They say now Maruti is expected to bring its top-line cars very aggressively.

Meanwhile, dealers say Japanese automakers are now providing unprecedented support by speeding up delivery after recovering from the earthquake and Tsunami of March this year and offering price cuts to preserve or increase their market share.

Domestic car sales are estimated to have dipped 10 per cent year-on-year in July, in the first fall since January 2009, as increasing overall inflation, rising loan interest rates and fuel prices impacted consumer sentiment. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors-which together account for three fourths of all cars sold in the country saw their sales drop in double-digit percentage.

Peugeot-Citroen Still Sees 2011 Europe Auto Market In Line With 2010

Peugeot-Citroen Still Sees 2011 Europe Auto Market In Line With 2010 ; -French auto maker PSA Peugeot-Citroen still expects the European automobile market to be similar in size to that of 2010 after a 0.8% decline in the first six months, a senior executive said Tuesday.

Jean-Marc Gales, head of the Peugeot and Citroen brands, said the company expects the Chinese market to grow 10% in 2011, and now expects Latin America will see an increase of between 5% and 7%, compared with a previous forecast of a 4% increase. Russia should see automobile sales growth of between 30% and 35% following a 57% surge in the first half, he said.

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automotive market forecast 2011

automotive market forecast 2011 ; Automobile industry body SIAM today lowered its vehicle sales growth forecast for FY'12 to 11-13% from 12-15% announced three months earlier, mainly due to higher interest rates and rising fuel prices.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) also predicted a lower growth of 10-12% during 2011-12, as against 16-18% announced earlier.

It, however, said India became the top growing passenger car market in the world during the January-June period this year, overtaking the US, which grew at 14.40%.

"Increase in interest rates has been higher than what we had thought three months earlier... Fuel price rise is more than what we had anticipated," SIAM President Pawan Goenka told reporters here.

He, however, said commodity prices, which are another big concern for the auto industry, have started softening in recent months and hence, it is unlikely that any company will raise the prices of their products.

"We are sitting at a threshold where if interest rates go up further, it will have a devastating impact on the industry. The three biggest concerns at present for the industry are lower general sentiment due to lower GDP forecast and various scams, higher finance rates and increasing fuel prices," Goenka said.

In the first quarter, two leading car-makers, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors , did not experience good growth, he said, adding, "The rest of the quarters of this fiscal depend on how Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors perform."

Labour unrest, which had completely stopped production at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant for 13 days, is another major concern for the auto industry of the country, he added.

Stressing that the industry will grow at a double-digit rate, Goenka said: "Our revised forecast is now 11-13% for the entire auto sector. Both the passenger car and passenger vehicles segments have been projected to grow at a lower rate 10-12% in FY'12."

With expectations of a good monsoon season and arrival of the festive season, sales in the passenger vehicle segment are likely to pick up again at the end of this quarter, he added.

There were 13 new launches in the both the passenger vehicles and two-wheeler segments last quarter. Besides, the passenger vehicle and two-wheeler industries both saw three vehicles being refreshed to suit consumer tastes, Goenka said.

Dwelling on the forecast, SIAM said the growth projection for the two-wheeler segment has been unchanged, while that of the three-wheeler segment has been lowered to 8-10% from 9-11%.

Utility vehicle sales will surge by 10-12% compared to 12-14% announced earlier, he said.

Goenka said the commercial vehicle segment is likely to witness slower growth of 12-14% than the earlier projection of 14-16%.

While sales in the light commercial vehicles segment are now estimated to rise by 17-19%, instead of the earlier forecast of 18-21%, medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales are expected to be up by only 8-10%, as against 10-12%, he added.

Talking about India's performance compared to other global markets, Goenka said: "In passenger vehicles, India was the fastest growing market at 18.20%in the first six months of 2011. However, it was at the fifth position with

12.70% in the commercial vehicles category."

In the passenger vehicles category, the US was the second fastest growing market in the world, with a 14.40% jump in sales.

Germany, China and Brazil followed the list with a 14.30%, 11% and 8.30%increase in sales, respectively.

In the commercial vehicles segment, Germany was the fastest growing country, with sales rising by 28.20% year-on-year, followed by the UK, Brazil and the US, which experienced sales growth of 26.30%, 18.70% and 13.70%, respectively, Goenka said.

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New Vehicle Sales Impacted, Japanese Disasters

Japanese Disasters, New Vehicle Sales Impacted : Motor Trade Association (MTA) said the new vehicle market for May showed the first effects of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, with several leading brands reporting sharply lower sales, despite the market remaining relatively solid.

Sales in May generally lift after April, which is usually one of the quietest months of the year, sales-wise. While that trend was repeated this year, the increase in sales was less than usual, due to the restricted supply which appeared to affect market leader Toyota and to a lesser extent Honda. Both companies suffered disruption to production facilities during March’s disasters, and the slowdown in sales had been anticipated by the industry.

Registration data just released by NZ Transport Agency shows the overall new vehicle market of 6,563 units was up 953 units (17 percent) compared to April 2011, and up 146 units (2 percent) compared to May 2010. For the year to date, overall sales are still ahead of 2010 by 2,912 units (9 percent).

New car sales of 4,535 units were up 277 units (7 percent) compared to April 2011, but down 81 units (2 percent) compared to May 2010. For the year to date, new car sales are still ahead of 2010 by 1,430 units (6 percent).

The new commercial vehicle market was strong during May. Sales of 2,028 units were up 676 units (50 percent) compared to April 2011, and 227 units (13 percent) compared to May 2010. For the year to date, new commercial sales are still well ahead of 2010 by 1,476 units (21 percent).

Commenting, MTA spokesperson Ian Stronach, Marketing and Communications General Manager said “The overall results in May are not surprising. Some Japanese brands are more reliant on their local production than others, and we are seeing the results of that in our market. The effects are likely to be felt for some time yet. Those brands with some or all of their production facilities outside of Japan are likely to benefit significantly.”

Holden led the new car market for the first time in many months with sales of 560 units – 12 percent share of the market. Hyundai continued to perform strongly with sales of 454 units – 10 percent share of the market. In third place was Suzuki with 433 units – 9.5 percent share, followed by Ford with sales of 422 units – 9 percent share, with Mazda rounding out the top five with sales of 420 units –also with a 9 percent share. Traditional market leader Toyota was back in sixth place with sales of 331 units – 7 percent share.

The race for individual passenger car leadership also had a somewhat unfamiliar look. Suzuki Swift took top spot with sales of 286 units ahead of Holden Commodore on 205 units, followed by Holden Captiva with 181 units, Hyundai i30 with 173 units and Ford Mondeo on 151 units. Long time leader, Toyota Corolla, was in ninth position with just 88 sales.

“Obviously, there will be quite a few brands vying to fill the gaps created by the supply constraints being felt by some Japanese based manufacturers. Add to this the strong stimulus in the form of the traditional ‘Fieldays Specials’ and the result is a market that’s as competitive as ever. Some leading models are available at heavily reduced prices, which will no doubt spur on buyer activity” said Stronach.

Toyota held strong in the light commercial segment however, with HiLux sales of 450 units making it New Zealand’s top selling model overall. Some way back in second spot was Nissan Navara with sales of 221 units and Ford Ranger in third with sales of 208 units.

The used import car market also showed buoyancy during May. Sales of 7,013 units were up 857 units (14 percent) compared to April 2011, but down 368 units (5 percent) compared to May 2010. For the year to date, used import car sales are still behind 2010 by 2,076 units (6 percent).

The motorcycle sector continued to cool along with temperatures, and at 528 units, was down 6 percent compared to April but encouragingly, was up 99 units or 23 percent compared to May 2010.