India In August 2010: Up 33 Percent
India’s population is right up there with neighboring China. Only a few hundred million less, nobody really knows. In car sales, India dwarfs against China. In 2009, Indians bought 1.43m units, compared to 13.6m units bought by the Chinese. Nevertheless, the market is growing, the potential is huge, and sales are at a record high. Monthly car sales in India surged to an all-time high in August, climbing 33 percent to 160,794 cars. That according to data issued by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), and reported in The Nikkei [sub]. August sales outpaced July’s record of 158,674 cars.
India has one of the lowest number of cars per 1,000 people among major automobile markets worldwide, according to KPMG. Once people have the money and cars become affordable, these markets explode.
SIAM previously forecast automobile sales to grow 12 to 13 percent in this fiscal year that ends March 31. But “we are going to exceed the projections,” said Vishnu Mathur, SIAM’s director-general. “We have so far grown much higher than the forecast.”
India has on leg up on China: Exports. In August alone, India exported 191,033 units . China needed half a year to export 288,900 units.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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For a detailed analysis, see: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/88602-august-2010-indian-car-sales-figures-analysis.html In terms of market share, the numbers are: Maruti 45% Tata 15% Hyundai 14% Mahindra 7% Ford 4% GM 4% Toyota 3% Honda 3% VW 2% Tata should continue to see an increase in its market share with the gradual ramp up of the Nano. Ford is seeing good sales numbers because of its competitively priced Figo. VW could very well see a doubling of its sales and share by the end of the year with the introduction of the keenly priced Vento (Polo with a trunk with an extended wheel base) in October.
In theory this situation should be very good news for Nano. Does anyone have an information about their sales and/or profitability?