2010 Top Selling Cars - USA

Every year, the month of January keeps all of us so busy dealing with various numbers and the countless titles being awarded world-wide. One such significant list of numbers is that of the best selling cars in USA, the second biggest automotive market in the world after China and a major influence in the profit-loss accounts of most global auto manufacturers.

2010 Top 10 in USA:
1. Ford F-Series - 528,349
2. Chevrolet Silverado - 370,135
3. Toyota Camry - 327,804
4. Honda Accord - 311,381        
5. Toyota Corolla - 266,082
6. Honda Civic - 260,218
7. Nissan Altima - 229,263
8. Ford Fusion - 219,219
9. Honda CR-V - 203,714
10. Dodge Ram - 199,652

* Star Performer of 2010 - Hyundai Sonata
* Expected Star Performer for 2011 - Hyundai Sonata

(Source for Sales Figures - www.autoblog.com)

For the 34th year in a row, you read it right, yes, for a record 34th straight year, Ford F-Series was the largest selling vehicle in USA by a considerably big margin. Chevrolet Silverado managed to beat Toyota Camry (2009's second best-seller) to the second spot in 2010. The fact that both the F-Series and the Silverado range includes many variants ranging from a Light Truck to a Heavy-Duty Truck is a different thing altogether. Even after so much negative publicity, the Toyota Camry has fared rather well and continued to be the largest selling car in USA.

After that comes the usual train of Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Nissan Altima. The year 2011 could very well see the Accord and Civic overtaking Camry and Corolla respectively, going by the recent downward trend of the Toyota duo. As a matter of fact, both the Honda models are already snapping at the heels of their respective competitors from Toyota. After its high profile entry into the Top 10 in 2009, Ford Fusion continued its good run and took the 8th spot for 2010. Honda CR-V and Dodge Ram completed the Top 10.

Among the models in the Top 10, only the two Toyota models posted negative sales compared to 2009, the recent 'Recalls' not helping the company's cause. All the other models posted growth over 2009 numbers, with the two Ford models increasing their sales by over 20%. Honda continued its dominance with three of their models in the Top 10 despite having the least number of product platforms and models sold amongst the top companies.

As predicted in this blog last year, Hyundai's new Sonata has been a stupendous success and was really the 'Star Performer' in the American market with sales of around 196,623 units in 2010, an impressive 64% more than what Hyundai sold in 2009. With the recent addition of Turbo and Hybrid versions, I strongly feel that the Sonata will continue its upward sales climb and stands a fair chance of entering the Top 10 in 2011.

Kia 'Transform' looking mighty good

The Oxford Dictionary states that “Transformation” is a sudden dramatic change of personality in a particular object’s existence. As it is, no auto manufacturer fits in this definition as well as the closely-associated Korean majors Hyundai and Kia Motors. The ‘Transformation’ they have undergone in quality and reliability is old news now. But the real transformation has, in fact, occurred in the ‘Design’ or ‘Wow Factor’ associated with their vehicles, especially Kia.

Whether the arrival of the new millennium spurred the top management at Hyundai-Kia to reinvent the fussy designs for which they were known for till then or the sudden focus in improving quality in the late nineties called for matching improvements in design or whatever the reasons would have been, the Hyundai-Kia duo hunted down globally reputed designers which finally saw the signing of Mr. Peter Schreyer, one of the top rated automotive designers of our times into Kia's pay-rolls. This man, apart from the iconic Audi TT Coupe, has been responsible for most of Audi’s stunning designs in the recent years.

Whoa, what a transformation he has made to Hyundai’s little sister brand? Just google 2009 Sportage and 2011 Sportage and similarly 2009 Optima and 2011 Optima to see the best of results for yourself. If that is not called as Transformation, what else will? I am sure that this design breakthrough will be extended to much of Kia’s model range with the signature ‘Schreyer’ corporate grille a standard fixture on all Kias.

If that is Kia’s version of a remarkable turnaround, the biggie Hyundai is not lagging behind either and is scripting an equally impressive chapter, but that should be a separate post altogether. As an auto-enthusiast, I write this with full of hope that these beautiful transformations would continue to feast the eyes of onlookers, myself included. By having a majority of customers and critics impressed, Kia is perfectly poised for global growth.

2010 Top Selling Cars - India

The year 2010 ended on a high note for the automotive industry across the world and more so in India with the market exploding towards the second half of the year. Though most manufacturers were well prepared to meet this increase, some of them struggled to cope up with this sudden surge. Its time now to look at the top-sellers of 2010.

There are no surprises at the top. Maruti-Suzuki Alto remains India's largest selling car by a wide margin, helped in big part with the recent addition of K10 model. It has also created history by becoming the first ever name-plate in India to record sales in excess of 300,000 units in a single calendar year.

Hyundai's brilliant small car, the i10 takes the second place with Maruti-Suzuki Wagon-R close in its heels. 2011 will most probably see the second and third places reversed going by the recent upward trend of the Wagon-R and the downward trend of the i10. A small price correction for the i10 would help increase its numbers massively. Is Hyundai listening?  



Maruti-Suzuki Swift and Tata Indica finishes just outside the podium. Maruti-Suzuki's Swift Dzire is the largest selling sedan while its Omni is the largest selling Utility Vehicle in India. Considering the fact that the existing Swift is almost 5 years old and with the impeding launch of the new Swift and Dzire this year, I expect their numbers to go up further.



Overall in the Top 10, 5 models are from Maruti-Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata have 2 models each and Mahindra has 1 model. Hyundai's high-priced premium hatchback i20 just missed out being in the Top 10. But with phenomenal sales over the past few months, I strongly feel that the i20 will enter the Top 10 in 2011. That is if the Tata Nano does not see considerable increase in sales.



In the German slug-fest for the crown of India's largest selling luxury brand, BMW (6246 units) once again beat Mercedes-Benz (5819 units) to the top spot. With the recent launch of X1 at extremely competitive prices, BMW is all set to maintain its lead in 2011 also. Audi finished a distant third with 3003 units sold in India.



2010 Top 10 in India:

1. Maruti-Suzuki Alto - 300,950

2. Hyundai i10 - 159,158

3. Maruti-Suzuki Wagon-R - 156,509

4. Maruti-Suzuki Swift - 142,549

5. Tata Indica - 104,841

6. Maruti-Suzuki Swift Dzire - 103,306

7. Maruti-Suzuki Omni - 92,539

8. Hyundai Santro - 87,800

9. Tata Indigo - 85,201

10. Mahindra Bolero - 78,895



Star Performer of 2010: Maruti-Suzuki Alto

Expected Star Performer for 2011: Hyundai i20



(Source for Sales Figures: www.team-bhp.com)

2011 North American Car & Truck of the Year Award Winners announced

The winners of the 2011 North American Car and Truck of the Year titles were announced recently at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. And the winners, as predicted, were the Chevrolet Volt and the Ford Explorer. This is the 18th year of these awards, which are designed to recognize the most outstanding new vehicles of the year. These vehicles are benchmarks in their segments based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.



After winning a multitude of awards, the Chevrolet Volt, rather least surprisingly, takes this most prestigious title too. By the way, this should make the Volt the first proper electric car to win this award. The highly-acclaimed and super-successful Hyundai Sonata ended up second in the title fight while the Nissan Leaf, the 2011 European Car of the Year award-winner, ended up last.

2011 NACOTY RESULTS:

1. Chevrolet Volt - 233

2. Hyundai Sonata - 163

3. Nissan Leaf - 94



PREVIOUS NACOTY WINNERS:

* 2010 - Ford Fusion Hybrid

* 2009 - Hyundai Genesis

* 2008 - Chevrolet Malibu 

* 2007 - Saturn Aura
* 2006 - Honda Civic

Its a ha-trick of NATOTY awards for Ford, this time with the redesigned all-new Explorer taking the honors. Though GM had two finalists, one each from Jeep and Dodge, the Ford managed to trounce them in the final standings. Jeep Grand Cherokee came in a distant second while the Dodge Durango ended up last in the standings.

2011 NATOTY RESULTS:
1. Ford Explorer - 253
2. Jeep Grand Cherokee - 138
3. Dodge Durango - 99

PREVIOUS NATOTY WINNERS:
* 2010 - Ford Transit Connect
* 2009 - Ford F-150
* 2008 - Mazda CX-9
* 2007 - Chevrolet Silverado
* 2006 - Honda Ridgeline

All-new Hyundai Verna spotted again

It's not news anymore that Hyundai is going to launch the all-new Verna in India in the first quarter of 2011. Hyundai has been making it clear by sending the lightly camouflaged Verna for test just-about everywhere in Chennai. But, as far as I know, these should be the closest and clearest shots yet of the new Verna ever captured in India. Thanks to my friend, who managed to take these snaps at 01:00 AM in the midnight, with the car parked close to his home.  

Its once again clear from these shots that we will be getting the Russian-spec hexagonal grille and front-end treatment in India and not the Chinese-spec horizontal slated grille. While enough has been said about how good the exterior design is and really transforms the current Verna's looks, these shots also throw light into the interiors.



Starting from the much-loved, three-spoke steering wheel of the i20, the two-tone beige and black dashboard to the satin silver finish in the center console, door handles and the steering wheel, the interiors look classy and much better to the existing Verna Transform. Being Hyundai, you can also expect the quality, fit and finish to be top-notch, loosing out only may be to the Honda City.



This car also seems to have an automatic transmission with the option of slotting the lever into a second gate for driving in semi-automatic mode. In Hyundai terms, its called H-Matic or Shiftronic in other models and we shouldn't be surprised if its called the same in this model too. With the options of manual and automatic transmissions and its usual arsenal of  Gamma petrol and CRDi diesel engines, expect the new Verna to offer one of the widest choices in the premium mid-size segment.

Pirelli wants us to "Stop Smoking"

Companies across the world are hell-bent in doing everything from planting saplings to adopting entire villages as part of their "Corporate Social Responsibility" activities to project themselves as responsible social citizens. While its absolutely commendable that these efforts are being taken, whether for PR or otherwise, in most of the cases, the products that the company makes would have nothing in common with these activities.

But, pleasant coincidences like this do happen rarely. The think-tanks at the leading global tire manufacturer Pirelli and its ad agency have come up with a new series of print ads aimed at preventing people from "smoking". "Smoking what?" remains a mysterious question to be answered though. While the pictures hint at the 'Tires' as a possible answer, the wordings seemingly depict and mean something else.



Whatever it is, is it not a brilliant way of glorifying their product's capability and conveying an important social message at the same time? Quite brilliant! Let more of these come and companies need not be doing any separate CSR activities. And, by the way, with a great post to end the year 2010, here is wishing you all a happy and smoke-free 2011!

2011 North American Car & Truck of the Year Finalists Announced

Its that time of the year again when new cars and trucks from across the globe compete among themselves for various titles being given away by a whole lot of automotive publications. Among the significant, tough-to-win titles are the North American Car of the Year & Truck of the Year awards. So, when finalists for such prestigious titles are announced, it ought to be noticed. The models which have been shortlisted for 2011 awards are Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Leaf in cars and Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee in trucks.

The awards are unique because instead of being given by a single media outlet, they are awarded by a group of automotive journalists from the United States and Canada representing magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites. To be eligible, a vehicle must be 'all new' or 'substantially changed' from the previous model year.

Though my heart beats for Hyundai Sonata to take the title in the cars category with its Regular, Turbo and Hybrid variants for the sole reason of shaking up the established midsize sedan segment, my mind shouts that its going to be the revolutionary Chevrolet Volt taking the top step. The fact that the Volt has already won quite a few individual Car of the Year titles and the Nissan Leaf has already been declared 2011 European Car of the Year doesn't help matters either. Amongst the trucks, in all probability, Ford Explorer should be taking the title though there are good chances of the Jeep Grand Cherokee springing in a surprise.

Both the awards, in their 18th year currently, will be announced at the North American International Auto Show at Detroit on January 10. Last year, Ford made a clean sweep of the awards with its Fusion Hybrid and Transit Connect taking the respective titles. Let the countdown begin!