Will there be a sunrise for Mitsubishi?

After Suzuki's venture in India, it was Mitsubishi to make a big investment from Japan. This story is more than a decade old now. After a tie-up with the legendry Hindustan Motors, they set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility near chennai and rolled out the Lancer. Lancer was a decent performer when there was competition only from Honda City in the executive sedan segment. Pajero was also available as a premium range UV. The company capitalised on the sales and distribution network of HM along with the service backup.

Then the market started attracting many other car makers and the brand lost its plot. Mitsubishi failed to do what Maruti Suzuki did. Lancer was not attractive anymore after Vernas, Corrolas, Octavias and Citys. Cedia, which the company thought will be a revival, also failed to deliver. Even in the UV segment Mitsubishi launched the Outlander recently. Its the same segment in which Toyota Fortuner is operating with similar offerings and price. When Fortuner was able to attract the expected sales of six months in the first month, Outlander is still considered to be a back runner in the race.

Where did Mitsubishi miss the game? After setting a strong foot in terms of infrastructure and the right product, the company failed to understand the changing consumer needs. The company failed to create the share of mind resulting in the loss of wallet share. Strategically the company could have come out of the tie-up after the initial success where the brand would have been perceived better altogether. As the saying goes "Its better late than never", Mitsubishi should revive the brand and re-position itself to get into the consideration set.

Is TATA running out of Names??

1999 - Tata came up with a complete Indian car called Indica. It was then followed by Indica V2, Indigo, Indigo XL, Indigo CS, Indigo Marina, Indica Vista and now Indigo Manza. Similarly after Sumo it was Sumo Victa, Sumo Grande and now Sumo Grande Mk II. Out of the box name was the Nano.

Why does Tata leverage the strength of its brand name to the fullest? Though the Indica and Indica Vista were on a different paltform, it appealed to the consumers as one and the same just because of the name identity. It could have been just Tata Vista. The same is the case with Indigo Manza and the recently launched Sumo Grande Mk II. Tata wants to reposition the Sumo as a UV for the family segment but unless it has a different identity all together starting from brand name, the objective will never be met.

I just hope Nano doesn't come as a sedan and Tata name it as Indigo Nano.

Can Nissan-Renault make a comeback?

Renault represented the Nissan Renault duo in India, by joining hands with M&M for its Logan. The JV happened in 2007 claiming a low priced car at the entry level sedan segment. the car was launched in both petrol (1.4 and 1.6)and diesel versions (1.5). The company had expected to sell an average of 2500 cars a month, but never crossed an average figure of 500 cars every month. When the industry had a boom last month with almost all players making growth, Logan was still in negative growth. Inspite of the JV with a leading automobile maker, M&M, who has an established network of dealers and service centres, the performance had led to a possible termination of the JV.

There is no one reason for the failure of the product. The product was claimed to be the cheapest in the entry level sedan segment which it never was (Courtesy: only 50% localised parts). This segment was dominated by Tata Indigo CS and Swift DZire. Also the car was a lot boxy, hwere there were sleek offerings from the market leaders and others like Hyundai in Accent and Ford in Ikon. Also the car was promoted as a low priced sedan for the entry level. All this resulted in the mismatch of the targeted segment and the positioning of the product.

Now Nissan has announced the entry to the small car market with Micra, giving three engine options and a price competing with other market leaders. Can the Duo make the offering right and win the mind and wallet of the Indian consumers?

Revival of the Legend

Even today a hardcore biker would prefer riding a RD350 or a RX100. Both these power horses were from the stable of Yamaha, the undisputed king of the Indian roads. But then as kingdom fell, the king got lost. When global climatic crisis took peak, all two stroke bikes were slaughtered from the factories and Yamaha was nowhere to be seen. The company was just another motorcycle manufacturer on the pages with products like Crux and Libero. Lack of proper distributorships and after sales service further added to the defeat. When Bajaj introduced Pulsar, the Indian 2wheeler industry was taken to the next level. But then Bajaj enjoyed a solitary leadership in the premium segment with little resistance from HeroHonda and TVS. The King was then back with a vengeance. Yamaha strategically revived the brand name by bringing in the R1 and MT01 as CBUs. R1 was also branded by John Abraham giving the brand an addtional boost. A stripped down version of the R1 as R15 was then introduced. Technology, Design and an affordable pricing made the offer irresistable to the Indian consumer. Then followed the FZ-16, FZ-S and Fazer. These have taken the Indian biking to an all together different game. This is also backed-up by doing the homework right in setting proper service centres and spares availability. After a long break, Yamaha finally had got the formula right for the current Indian consumer.

11,000,000 Splendors on road

Hero Honda had achieved the feat of winning the Largest 2Wheeler manufacturer in the World award for 8 consecutive times. On 11-11-2009, Hero Honda created another world record of rolling out the 11th millionth splendor on road and still going strong. 15 years since its launch, the product had been the Darling of the Masses all these years. Let it be a B Com graduate from Delhi University or a owner of some paddy fields in Tamil Nadu, this product had appealed to everybody. This has easily been the most reliable product from Hero Honda and clearly reflects the attitude of the company towards their commitment to the consumers. All these years this product had been positioned as a style icon, economy bike, executive bike etc., In the recent years, there had been close to zero promotions for this product. This makes Splendor a strong example for word of mouth marketing and the level of influence of the reference groups. Hope this guy runs for many more miles before axe.

Honda trying what TVS failed to do...

Honda Motorcycle and Scoorters India (HMSI) has officially announced the launch of its new 110cc motorcycle in the Delhi Auto Expo in Jan 2010. The company who is a technical partner in Hero Honda is a niche player catering to the premium motorcycle segment through Unicorn. Though the company has a commuter segment brand Shine 125cc, now it is entering the entry level motorcycle segment with its 110cc. But the company had made a clear strategy by creating a new segment, which will avoid the head on with its sister brands Passion and Splendor. The new motorcycle is targeted at youth who wants style at the entry level. Also the pricing is expected to be a premium of 10% compared to HeroHonda's Passion and Splendor. This creates a clear differentiation in the already cluttered entry level segment. A product for this segment was already in line with TVS as STAR Sport, which TVS failed to capitalise on. Though the product hit the showrooms, it never took off from there as the company failed to identify the target for the product. HMSI now has an open opportunity to create a winning brand.

Another Chinese Product

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) is all set with a 51% stake in the JV with GM to enter India. This would be the first time a Chinese car maker is entering India at this scale. In China SAIC is the leading car maker and GM is the leading foreign car maker. Together the strategy is to take TATAs and Marutis head on with price. With a long history of the Chinese in consumer electronics, Indians have always percieved the goods as cheap alternatives. The electronics were always in the Use and Throw mode. There had never been a successful brand from China in the past.But cars in India are going to be a High Involvement Purchase with a high influence from family and friends as references. With the strategy of low pricing, this quality perception is just going to continue. This may also tamper the GM brand individually.

All set for Polo

Volkswagen, currently the largest car maker in the world after acquiring Porsche, has made a clear platform for the launch of the much awaited Polo. The company had focused on the brand building activities recently. The recent series of emotional ads laid more focus on the brand and the entire product portfolio. For the first time Volkswagen had localised 80% of the parts for Polo which pre series production had started recently. This will enable the manufacturer to have a check on the pricing, who was already on a target pricing strategy. This had never been the case with Jetta or the Passat. Also the dealerships have almost been doubled in the last 5 months from 22 to 40 to ensure seamless sales and service. As an additional bonus Polo had also won the European Car of the Year award. Having the right product at the right time in the right market with the right plan VW may give other small car manufacturers a run for their money.

Will Suzuki survive in the 2 wheeler segment ?

The boom in the Indian 2Wheeler segment happened when the 3 Japanese giants joined the 3 Indian companies, Honda with Hero, Kawasaki with Bajaj and Suzuki with TVS. Though only Hero Honda is still going strong, the other two ceased after tasting a good success. But Honda parallelly came up and had created a market for itself with its Unicorn, a premium 150cc bike. Suzuki which entered India much later with its Heat and Zeus, semi-urban and urban models respectively failed to create a mark. Then it was the introduction of the scooterette Access 125cc which again failed to compete with Honda's Activa and Dio. Recently launched GS150R also is a failure compared to Pulsars, Apaches and FZs. What did Honda get right which Suzuki failed to do? May be its understanding the needs of the target segment. Honda cautiously did not enter the semi-urban and rural market as it had its share from Hero Honda. It also maintained its brand as premium and sporty with the urban consumer, which is in-line with its global positioning. Suzuki tried to do things differently by positioning itself in the economy segment which was an India specific strategy. So does this indicate that Indian urban 2wheeler consumers want global standards from global companies?

Welcome the GHOST

Rolls-Royce has unveiled its new saloon Rolls-Royce Ghost in India. According to the company, a part of BMW AG, this is an everyday car available at a cheap price. It costs around just Rs 2.5 crores which is very less compared to the big brother Phantom which is around Rs 4 crores. It is positioned as a more casual and informal everyday car. In India, which is expected to be the biggest market for RR in the next 5 to 10 years, the company is targeting the exclusive chauffeur driven lot. The company also offers special customization for the local market. The communication strategy of the company is to make the media tell the story by not missing the auto shows and a one to one contact through its two dealers. According to the company sources, there is still 85% of the target segment who have never tasted a RR. The Ghost is all set to haunt. But will this be at the cost of its premium brother Phantom?

Future of FIAT in India

Even now Premier Padmini is referred to as Fiat here. With such a strong brand presence over these years why is Fiat still not a major player in India Automobile market? Its Fiat's Diesel technology that is present in the heart of the fastest selling Swift, Dzire and Indica Vista. Along with TATAs Fiat also sells a decent number of Grande Punto and Linea. With such a brand image set and a great technology in hand, why is Fiat still not aggressive in the market? Fiat also has the funky 500 available in India as a CBU. This is priced at Rs 15 lakhs approx inclusive of a 110% excise duty. Fiat could localise the production atleast as a CKD and compete with other global brands like Fabia, i20 and the yet to come Polo from Volkswagen. Moving out of the TATA Motors umbrella, Fiat can be an individual player for its share of the pie.

Is PULSAR overexposed ?

Bajaj has planned to release a sub 150cc Pulsar next year. Its expected to be a 135cc unit with the same DTSi technology. The brand Pulsar, all these years, since its introduction in 2001, from 'Definitely Male' till 'The Fastest Indian' has created an image of youth, sporty and performance. There had been a long list of product variants like the 150cc, 180cc, 200cc(phased out recently), 220cc and technology updates like DTSi, DTS-Fi and DTS-Si. But all these were in the premium segment (150cc +) where Pulsar had enjoyed an extended honeymoon period. Bringing the same brand which was appealing to youths as a style statement, into the commuter segment which is a sub 150cc category will tamper the image of the brand as a premium product. When Discover, which was in the 135cc segment, is detuned to the entry level 100cc segment, the earlier was discontinued. XCD is on the verge of getting axed. One brand which targeted a set of customers and was successful all these years is now parallely repositioned to another set of customers. The line between underexposing and overexposing a brand is very thin and Bajaj could have planned a new brand for this segment. Why squeeze a successful brand to its limits?

Will Chevy BEAT beat ?

GM's tough time across the globe had very little impact on its India operations. In reply to India's fastest growing small car segment, GMs second answer is here with Chevy BEAT. After the not so great success of the Matiz derived Spark, Beat has arrived. Will it take on the i10s and the A-Stars ? GMs global status had put the brand in India on a backfoot. Other than the UV segment where Tavera had a good time after Qualis was discontinued, Chevrolet, inspite of Saif and Rani Mukherjee never made a mark in the market. Or in otherwords, two of the BIG 3, Ford and GM have had a tough time till now. Though BEAT is aggressively priced its the product performance, after sales service and spares that will determine the success of GMs only hope for now.

2010 BMW 5 series

BMW has revealed the 2010 - 5 series. The Eagles Eye will be missed out much. More bullish than ever the new radical design has been the best of the 5 series. Bigger kidney grills and racked headlamps gives this Ultimate Driving Machine a chance to run over A6s and E classes. Bigger wheel base offering more cabin space and a wide range of engine options are also crucial add ons. BMW understands Indian market better than the great Indian Maruti Suzuki where the former has a range of diesel options and the latters SX4 doesnt have one still.

Royal Enfield Classics

Royal Enfield has launched Bullet Classic 500 and 350 model motorcycles in Delhi. They are priced at 1.25 lakhs and .99 lakhs respectively. Inspite of being the manufacturers of the oldest motorcycles in the world and one of the established players in Indian Two Wheeler industry, Royal Enfield had failed to create in India what Harley Davidson had done in US. Comparing them on the 4Ps, Royal Enfield had been very conservative and submissive in its product design and technology. It was just the face lifted Bullet Electra and Machsimo along with the Thunderbird in their portfolio. Pricing was always a premium and a target consumer who buys a Royal Enfield can afford it. Promotion again being very conservative had costed the brand a lot. 'HOG' is more established than 'trip'. Lack of prominent presence in the market also had let the brand down. Hope once this prestegiously owned brand is not following the lines of Amabassador in India.