Riding on the success of the Amaze, City and the recently launched Mobilio, Honda has overtaken Mahindra as the country’s third largest car manufacturer. Sales numbers of the Japanese manufacturer grew by more than 40 per cent as the company sold 15,709 vehicles in July 2014 as compared to the corresponding period in 2013.
Since being launched in January, the Honda City has raced past Hyundai Verna to become the segment leader. The Mobilio also seems to have captured the Indian customers’ imagination as the MPV has managed to rack up more than 10,000 bookings in less than a month of its launch. With a diesel engine, seven seats and stylish looks, Honda has the perfect recipe which seems to have hit the sweet spot for the Indian customers. Except for a small dip in April and May, the period when the Hyundai Xcent blossomed, even the Amaze has been returning pretty consistent sales figures.
In comparison, Mahindra, which held the number three spot till now, sold 12,472 four wheelers in the last month, which is nine per cent less than it managed in July 2013. While sales of the utility vehicles like the Bolero, XUV500 and the Scorpio have been pretty consistent, Mahindra has been struggling with the rest of its line-up. The compact SUV/crossover segment is doing pretty well in the Indian car market and despite being the pioneer of this segment, the Quanto has failed to make a mark in the compact SUV segement.
Honda’s senior VP, sales and marketing, Mr. Jnaneswar Sen however, doesn’t seem fascinated by the company’s feat. Speaking to ET, he said, "It (number three) is not our target and one month sale is no indicator of ranking. Having said that, we are happy with our own sales, we should strive to consistently doing well with our models and achieve our volumes plans."
