To cash in on the success of small cars in India, leading automobile players are using the small car platform to build bigger ones and grab greater market share in the sedan segment.
The newest entrant into the category is Ford India, which recently unveiled its new small car Figo, and says it will build a complete family of Figo over the years. While Figo is still few months away before it hits Indian roads, the buzz is that Tata Motors will shortly launch its new sedan, the Tata Manza, which is based on the platform of Indica Vista. Market leader Maruti Suzuki is already cashing on the success of Swift with Swift Dzire, which continues to have high waiting period of three-four months even after more than a year of its launch. Tata Manza, which would be positioned against Mahindra Logan and Swift D?zire, will be available in two engines, a petrol engine of 1.4 litres and multi jet engine of 1.3 litres.
The domestic market is buoying owing to strong festive season sales and compact cars have witnessed a record high. The segment-wise cumulative sales in September 2009 for Hyundai Motor India, for the A2 Segment which includes the Santro, i10, Getz & i20 was 49,482 units. In comparison, for the A3 Segment (Accent & Verna) 4,269 units, the A5 Segment (Sonata Transform) 52 units; and SUV Segment (Tucson) 1 unit, respectively.