Small is big in India-hatchbacks still rule the domestic market
India is known as a hub for small cars and hatchbacks have been ruling the Indian roads for a long time now. The car maker that has been present in India from the very beginning, Maruti Suzuki India has a number of small cars under its portfolio. Maruti’s iconic Maruti 800 which wore the throne for a long time until other car makers realised the potential of the domestic market. With other car makers pouring in, Maruti rolled out more new small cars in India to sustain the competition. Car majors from across the world offered the best of the cars from their portfolio in India but failed to an impression on the Indian customers. Reason being that the Indian market is extremely price sensitive which means larger cars were a complete no no for a common man as one had to shell out a lot of money to own a sedan cars, SUVs and MPVs did not exist exactly then. Therefore to get success in India it became necessary to include a frugal, low priced, attractive car that offered decent features too.
Car cos like Ford and Chevrolet had to wait for quite some time to hit the bulls eye in India. Specially Ford which failed to woo the Indian customers with its products and had to phase out some of the cars which could not create magic in India. Ford was grappling to come out with a car that strikes chord with the Indian customers and then finally in 2010 Ford launched Figo hatchback that blew auto aficionados with its frugality, sleek design and innovative features. People just loved it and the hatchback also won aplenty accolades registering Ford’s name in top auto makers in India. Ford Figo price became its unique selling point as at a meagre price it was offering a good deal to the customers. Looking at the immense success for Figo, Ford will develop more small cars for India which will be launched in the coming years.
Chevrolet too saw a surge in its sales with the introduction of Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Beat small cars in the Indian car market. Chevrolet Spark is an entry level car that is offered in petrol and LPG versions while beat is offered in petrol, LPG and diesel trim levels.Chevrolet Beat is specifically doing very well; the petrol model also garnered good sales, owing to its uncommon and sporty looks. In February 2011, Chevrolet launched the LPG version of Beat with SMARTEC engine, the car however could not get much good response but the diesel version launched in July 2011 is doing extremely well. Around 50% of the sales of Chevrolet in India accounts for Chevrolet Beat diesel, the car is extremely frugal and offers a high fuel economy of 23 kmpl.
Apart from these hatchbacks other small cars like Hyundai i10 and Hyundai i20 from the stable of South Korean car maker are one of the best selling hatchbacks in India. Still there are a lot other small cars in pipeline that will make its way in India soon.
Reference Box: Go through the Ford Figo pictures gallery on Carkhabri.com. Also express your views about the car or read what users thing about the car in the Ford Figo reviews section on Carkhabri.com.
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