Diesel Models of Tata Indica, VW Polo, Maruti SX4, Ritz Available at Discounts
T he long waiting period and premium pricing for diesel cars are becoming history on weak consumer sentiment. In fact, many diesel variants are now available off the shelf at discounts. Of late, sales have muted forcing distributors to offer discounts on Tata Indica, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Figo, Maruti SX4 & Ritz, Fiat Punto, Nissan Micra and Verito. In some cases, the discounts are as high as Rs 50,000 a car on select models. “We are offering discounts on diesel models in line with the market competition. The slowing demand curve has affected sales of diesel cars too and these rebates are expected to keep the sales ticking,” said Ford Motor India president & managing director Michael Boneham. Diesel models gained massive sales momentum in the past few months on dual benefit of higher mileage and lower running costs of cheaper priced fuel. But with demand tapering off in recent times not all models are enjoying the same customer demand. However, popular models such as Maruti’s Swift and DZire models, Hyundai’s i20 and Verna, and Tata Indigo CS still enjoy waiting of up to 6-8 months for their diesel variants across markets. In fact, Maruti customer bookings swelled to over 1.25 lakh for the Swift and 65,000 for Dzire as its Manesar plant was out of production for more than a month due to an industrial lockout. The company now plans to produce these cars simultaneously in both the Manesar and Gurgaon plants to increase supplies.
VW cuts European sales target by 150,000 vehicles: Reports
German carmaker Volkswagen has cut its internal 2012 sales target for Western Europe by 150,000 vehicles, German weekly magazine Der Spiegel said, without citing sources. The estimate reported by Der Spiegel is lower than the 250,000 figure reported last week in German daily Handelsblatt, which the company denied. Upon being asked about the 150,000 figure, a spokesman on Sunday declined to comment on the specific number but said, “We are still doing well. We are growing. But we have always said the coming months will be challenging. Because of this we will make adjustments here and there.” On Friday Volkswagen confirmed it had lowered its internal sales target but declined to say by how much. Handelsblatt had reported that VW, which has not published a full-year sales target, had cut its expectations for full-year sales by 300,000 vehicles to 9.4 million globally.
The paper further said VW had cut its expectation for sales in Europe - not Western Europe - by 250,000 vehicles, citing company sources. But the auto maker was quick to issue a denial. “The figures reported by Handelsblatt have no basis,” a VW spokesman said at the time. Volkswagen, on course to overtake U.S. rival General Motors this year as the world’s second biggest carmaker, aims to sell 10 million vehicles by 2018, up from the 8.36 million recorded last year, and push past Japanese group Toyota . VW said last month group deliveries rose 9.1 percent in the first eight months to 5.19 million vehicles, adding that the economic situation in Western Europe was still tense.
Volkswagen to ‘Refresh’ Polo, Vento ahead of festive season
Volkswagen India said it would introduce ‘Refresh’ variants of its Polo hatchback and the Vento sedan in the latter half of this month to coincide with the onset of the festive season to boost sales of its cars in a market that had been impacted by the economic slowdown. Addressing the media, Arvind Saxena, the newly-appointed managing director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India, said, “We are repositioning the two models, and there are some minor product changes based on market feedback.” The new Vento variants will be priced between Rs.7.29 lakh and Rs.8.75 lakh while the Polo will be priced between Rs.4.89 lakh and Rs.5.84 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi. The company sold 4,410 units in August 2012, a significant drop from the year-ago figure of 6,091 units, and it has a market share of just under 3 percent. “We are working towards a 3 percent plus share by the end of the calendar. The market has not been at its best, and the passenger car industry, too, saw a drop of 15 percent during the period,” said Mr. Saxena. Further, he said, “We plan to increase dealerships from 109 to 150 dealerships by the year-end.’’ Gerry Dorizas, President & Managing Director, Volkswagen Group Sales India, said, “India is a mature and a developing car market. A lot of factors affect sales and how the market develops is the question. If it continues like this, we see a different framework in the industry with the margin pressures. Our idea is to grow the company to be a customer driven organisation.”