Planning to buy a new car? This may be the right time to start hunting as six new car launches and facelifts are scheduled in the first four days of next week itself, as carmakers try to attract customers during the festive season around Diwali.
The most important launch ? slated for October 16 ? will be an entirely new model replacement for India?s top-selling car for the last eight years ? the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800. The new model promises higher fuel efficiency, increased space and better driveability, all packaged in a more modern design.
A day before the Alto, Ford will launch the face-lifted Figo. The same day will also see Tata Motors launching a new ?Club Class? variant of the Indigo Manza, while Honda will broaden its small-car portfolio with an automatic variant of the Brio. Chevrolet will also look to attract first-time buyers with the launch of the Spark compact hatchback with a fresh face.
Utility vehicle buyers too have reason to cheer. Tata Motors will launch the much-awaited new Safari Storme SUV, while rival Mahindra will introduce the first product from its Ssangyong stable ? the Rexton II premium SUV. Mahindra had acquired South Korea-based Ssangyong in 2011.
The barrage of new models would be followed by at least four more till December and is expected to help pull up sales, which have been depressed for most of the year. High interest rates and waning demand for petrol cars have led to a flat car sales growth between April and September at 9.09 lakh units.
However, the demand for diesel variants and recent launches (Renault Duster, Maruti Ertiga) has led the utility vehicle segment to post a 56% rise in the same period at 2.55 lakh units.
?There has not been much excitement in the compact car segment in recent times; so, sales have been slow. The new Alto is expected to stimulate growth in the segment that accounts for 27% of the car market,? Deepesh Rathore, MD at IHS Automotive India said. ?The festive season is the last big hope for the year to pick sales up and carmakers want to give their best shot. The demand should be as good as last year, if not better. There are issues at the macro level, but the reforms should cheer up the people,? Rathore added.
In November, General Motors (GM) will launch its most important product in recent times ? the Chevrolet Sail U-VA hatch. The first product in India from GM?s Chinese joint venture with SAIC, the Sail will enter a hotly-contested premium hatch market, where market leader Maruti Swift has cemented its place as second-most sold car in the country on a monthly offtake of about 18,000 units.
?The Chevrolet Sail hopes to shake up the small car market and the Chinese parts sourcing will help it compete aggressively on the price. Sail U-VA pricing will be lower by 20,000-30,000 than the Swift,? a source close to the development said.
GM will also launch its first seven-seater MPV targetted at family buyers, the Enjoy, in December. The Enjoy will look to cash in on the popularity of Maruti?s Ertiga, Toyota Innova and the Mahindra Xylo.
If you thought it?s all regular petrol and diesel cars, you?re wrong. Mahindra-Reva is expected to launch the NXR electric city car which can seat four in November.
