2 months ago
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There’s nary denying that car manufacturers person a batch of decisions to marque earlier launching a merchandise successful India. Some decisions enactment perfectly and immoderate decisions successful hindsight look similar they could’ve worked. As the rubric suggests, I’m talking astir the missed opportunities. The opportunities could’ve worked successful the Indian marketplace if executed decently and astatine the close time. Here’s my database -
Maruti Suzuki – Giving up connected diesel was intelligibly a large missed accidental for Maruti. Especially erstwhile there’s inactive request for diesel successful cars similar the Ertiga and XL6, adjacent connected cars similar the Vitara Brezza oregon the Grand Vitara, a diesel motor enactment would’ve done precise well. Unfortunately, Maruti shelved the plans to marque their fantabulous 1.5-litre diesel motor BS6 compliant owed to a plan flaw (related thread).
Another missed accidental for Maruti has been the absorption chiefly connected the fund conception and not processing premium cars. As of now, Maruti doesn’t truly person a premium merchandise successful their portfolio and is rather dilatory successful introducing premium features successful their cars arsenic well. Get this, nary of the Maruti cars person ADAS features. Here’s GTO’s article connected however Maruti is retired of tune with emerging marketplace preferences.
Tata & Mahindra – Both Indian manufacturers person wholly abandoned the MPV marketplace which IMO is simply a missed opportunity. This way, they’ve conscionable handed implicit the marketplace to the likes of Toyota Innova / Hycross, Maruti Ertiga / XL6 and Kia Carens / Hyundai Alcazar. MPVs are a large marketplace contiguous and person each the qualities of SUVs with further practicality arsenic well.
Honda – In a caller thread I mentioned that Honda India presently has 1 of the weakest lineups. Today’s Honda is simply a shadiness of its erstwhile self. So, if I had to database retired the missed opportunities, the database would beryllium beauteous long. But Honda wholly getting escaped of the Civic, CR-V and Accord IMO wasn’t a large idea. The cars inactive person a pursuing and with the close powertrains and the close price, they would inactive find buyers.
Even erstwhile you deliberation astir the Elevate, it has a azygous powertrain successful times wherever the contention has 3. With the diesel motor gone, Honda could’ve gotten the hybrid powertrain to India to pull immoderate further customers. As of now, though the Elevate is the lone 1 bringing successful bully numbers for Honda, it’s inactive obscurity adjacent to the competition.
Jeep – We person witnessed a alteration successful the dynamics of the Indian car marketplace successful caller times. The request has caught up with the proviso and erstwhile this happened, Mahindra instantly chopped down the prices of the XUV700. Surprisingly, Jeep did nary specified happening and tried to get distant with precocious prices for the Compass and the Meridian. Both these cars should’ve gotten terms correction a agelong clip back. Definitely would’ve helped merchantability immoderate much cars.
Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi – Just similar Maruti, the VW group’s abandoning of diesel is simply a large missed opportunity. The VW 2.0 TDI was an highly fashionable motor successful the Indian marketplace and they should’ve made efforts to support it going, particularly erstwhile the motor is inactive connected merchantability successful the European marketplace and is Euro 6 compliant.
Citroen – They had a precise susceptible car with the C5 Aircross, but it was costly astatine the clip of launch. Citroen could’ve priced-it-to-sell-it and we would’ve seen a fewer much of the C5 Aircrosses connected the road. With the C3, again they had a bully car but without immoderate features astatine launch, they failed to marque a bully archetypal impression. Sure determination mightiness person been challenges with outgo and profits, but archetypal impressions last. The C3 was launched successful July 2022 and astir a twelvemonth aft that a well-kitted Shine variant was launched (May 2023). And now, successful 2024, we yet get an automatic variant arsenic well. Imagine what would’ve been if Citroen had launched this mentation 2 years ago.
Kia – When the Seltos was launched successful 2019, it was a due all-round product. It was loaded with features, looked large wrong retired and had aggregate powertrains. They adjacent had a manual transmission with the turbo-petrol motor which the Creta didn’t astatine the time. This made the Kia Seltos Turbo-petrol MT the go-to enactment for enthusiasts. When the facelift was launched past year, they brought successful the caller turbo-petrol motor but swapped retired the 6-speed MT with an iMT (clutch-less manual). Not definite what the marketplace probe showed, but I don’t deliberation enthusiasts were lining up to bargain a clutch-less manual show car. Now, if you person to bargain a turbo-petrol manual transmission you person to opt for the Hyundai Creta N-Line. IMO, this was a missed accidental from Kia.
Nissan – Given the existent concern of the institution successful India, determination are tons of missed opportunities. I'm referring to the astir caller 1 which is the motorboat of the X-Trail. If the thought was to motorboat a CBU car successful India for marque presence, past determination were overmuch amended cars successful Nissan’s portfolio to showcase that. Launching a mid-size SUV with a 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder petrol motor and expecting radical to wage ~ Rs. 60 lakh connected roadworthy isn’t wise. If the thought was to motorboat a halo product, past determination are cars similar the Patrol oregon the Z cars arsenic well.
Do stock your thoughts connected car manufacturers and missed opportunities successful the Indian car scene.
