Volkswagen Vento Overtakes Honda City

Published: Friday, May 20, 2011, 16:41 [IST]

The Volkswagen Vento has been successful in overthrowing the Honda City as the highest selling mid-size sedan in India. The Honda City had a 13 year tenure at the top of the mid-size sedan segment and surprisingly the Vento has reached the top spot within just eight months after its launch. Volkswagen Vento's sales during March and April was 6,839 units while Honda sold 4,315 Citys in the corresponding period. Honda City sales began to decline after the arrival of competition in the form of the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Volkswagen Vento and the Hyundai Verna.

The Honda City is priced from Rs. 8.4 lakh to Rs. 10.05 lakhs. The Vento on the other hand has a starting price of Rs. 6.99 lakh, which is a sizeable difference. VW has been pricing its models very aggressively against its rivals. The VW Polo is Rs. 20,000 cheaper than the Hyundai i20.

The availability of a diesel engine has also helped accelerate Vento's sales. Honda is yet to introduce a diesel engine for its City and this is clearly the reason for declined sales. Diesel is 40 per cent cheaper than petrol in India and diesel car sales have been in the upswing. Indian consumers have been impressed by VW's German technology. Volkswagen also undertook an aggressive marketing strategy for the Vento and that has yielded positive results.

The Volkswagen Vento's sales success is extraordinary for another reason. The German carmaker has been successful in gaining a 2% market share in India within two years. This is significant as American carmakers GM and Ford have only managed a market share of 4% despite of functioning in India for over a decade. Reacting to the positive sales of the Vento, Neeraj Garg, Director of VW Group Sales said: “ 360 degree approach to deliver global quality at local prices has worked for us."

Article Published On: Friday, May 20, 2011, 16:04 [IST]

Read more on: #auto news #volkswagen #honda

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