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Honda City maintains lead over Lancer

NetScribes/Mahesh Shetty

Competition in the low-volume upper premium segment remains as close as ever, a slowdown in the industry notwithstanding. In March 2001, Honda maintained its traditional lead over HM-Mitsubishi's Lancer by 371 units.

The Delhi-based Honda Siel sold 1,271 units of its benchmarked City during March 2001, while HM-Mitsubishi closed its March sales at 900 units. Of the 900, 708 were petrol Lancers while the remaining 192 were diesels.

For the Lancer, this is a 22 per cent drop compared to sales during March 2000 when it sold 1,151 units. For Honda, March 2001 is a 3 per cent drop over the same month last year when it sold 1,311 units.

During calendar 2000, the Honda City sold 10,555 units, while the Lancer sold almost 8,000 units. That's a 32 per cent lead between the two models. By the end of calendar 2000, the City had a 13 per cent share of the premium segment while the Lancer had almost 10 per cent.

The City currently retails in the Rs 0.75-1 million range (depending on the variant), while the Lancer retails slightly higher in the Rs 0.925-1.20 million range (ex-Bombay).

Honda Siel recorded February 2001 sales of 653 cars as against 1,004 cars sold in the same month last year. HM-Mitsubishi sold 501 cars in February 2001 against 655 units in the previous corresponding period.

Both Honda Siel and HM-Mitsubishi are looking at new introductions in the luxury segment. Honda is planning to bring the Accord to India either through the CBU route or assembling it locally while Mitsubishi is looking at its Gallant for a possible launch in the next two years.

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