Getting Sporty

The year 2010 saw back-to-back launches and re-launches. The SUV,despite the traffic snarls,got set for a long drive. “The market is steering towards young corporates with fat salary packages who want to show off their position by driving a car that can turn heads. In such cases,the price is secondary,” says Sachit Passi of BMW Krishna Auto Sales in Industrial Area as he provides a quick look of their latest SUV in the smaller segment,the X1. To officially hit the roads in January 2011,this one comes between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh,and boasts a fuel efficiency of 12 km/litre.

While the under-Rs 10 lakh section comprising the Mahindra Xylo,Scorpio,the new Tata Safari and Bolero are bestsellers,it is the luxury brands that are making their mark forcefully. Ford has upped their presence with the Endeavour and Chevrolet with Captiva,but leading the race is Toyota Fortuner. “We had the advantage of launching Fortuner last year in September,when the only other SUV in the Rs 20 lakh price bracket was the Endeavour. Since then,Fortuner has seen a five-six month waiting list and the two Toyota dealers in Chandigarh do a business of 30 pieces a month,” says Sampat Singh of Toyota Em Pee Motors in Industrial Area.

While it was Audi and its turbocharged Q line-up (the Q5 and Q7) that set the ball rolling,BMW’s X series soon took over with X3 at Rs 30 lakh plus,X4 at Rs 45 lakh plus and the X6 at crore. “There has been a huge demand for BMW’s 3 Series,5 series but it was the X series that actually took us by surprise. X5 and X3 launched in 2007 and there has been no looking back. We’ve seen a 40 per cent growth and sales are multiplying,” says Abhay Dange,general manager (press and corporate affairs),BMW,adding that the northern region is their biggest market. With Audi and BMW racing ahead,Merc too is now rethinking its strategy and working on a younger plot. Merc’s new New M-Class has registered a 24 per cent growth in the mid-size luxury segment. Its Grand Sports edition is priced at Rs 54.11 lakh and the Grand Executive Edition comes at Rs 47.91. Deepak Joshi,a Mercedes-Benz dealer,says,“These cars are dynamic,stylish,sporty and exude aggression and power,and this is what the people of Punjab want. The region also has rugged interior roads,which makes SUVs and other off-roaders the vehicle of preference for the wealthy.” He adds that the “rich and affluent always prefer SUVs”. “Because the market is young and has the money,Merc is refreshing its strategy and becoming younger,for which a new campaign will be launched next year,” he says.

The past few months have also witnessed mega-launches in the under-Rs 20 lakh category: the Skoda Yeti and Hyundai Santa Fe. In fact,Skoda registered a sales growth of 29 per cent in November 2010 primarily because of its two new launches — the Fabia and the SUV called Yeti,which received 100 bookings on the launch day itself.

Thanks to the cross country traveller,the weekend getaways,and bad Indian roads,these SUVs and multi-utility vehicles are a hit among north Indians. “A lot of women want to drive SUVs because these vehicles have road presence and one naturally commands respect while driving it,” says automotive garage Motorcraft’s owner and rallyist Bhalinder Sangha.

Sangha adds that owning an SUV has nothing to do with its amazing technology. “Hardly anyone knows how to use a 4×4 gear. SUVs are for families,farm spaces or off roaders,it’s energy is wasted on city roads. In cities,it’s all about the road presence,the elevated seat,the fact that traffic gives way to you. Notice how politicians will always be in one,” says Sangha,who is also a consultant with automobile companies. But driving always was about making an impact.