The most-successful car launches in 2011

Even as 2011 has bid adieu, we bring you the hottest and most-loved cars that were launched last year: cars which helped rev up the sales figure with their hot quotient despite the clouds of slowdown hovering over the auto sector.

Year 2011 witnessed a large influx of cars, most being revamped versions of existing models and some diesel avatars of the popular petrol variants.

Of the plethora of cars launched in 2011 only a few could woo the Indian customers.

While small cars take away the maximum market share, select sedans have also qualified the test for most successful car launches in 2011.

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Hyundai Verna Fluidic

The awe-inspiring new Verna sporting the fluidic design left the customers completely spellbound in 2011.

Hyundai struck the right chord by pricing the saloon smartly at a starting price of Rs 712,758 (ex-showroom Pune).

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Another thing that worked in the favour of Verna is the presence of diesel variant which helped topple Honda City from the throne in the sedan segment.

Verna outnumbered City's sale and gave a tough fight to the Volkswagen Vento too.

As a result Honda slashed City prices up to Rs 66,000 to meet the competition.

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Maruti Swift

Maruti's new Swift received an unprecedented response by roping in 50,000 bookings even before the launch.

Soon after the launch, the booking number crossed 1-lakh (100,000) mark, reflecting the immense popularity of the hatch.

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A major chunk of the bookings comprised the diesel variant, clearly implying that diesel cars are here to stay.

Stuffed with new features, the all-new Swift, built on a naive platform, is more frugal, roomier and powerful than its predecessor.

Despite the continual labour unrest at Maruti's Manesar plant, the Swift stands intact with almost negligible booking cancellations by customers.

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Chevrolet Beat Diesel

The domestic automobile industry has been hit by the double whammy of spiralling petrol prices and skyrocketing interest rates, which has led to the rise of diesel cars in India.

As a result auto honchos are vying to launch diesel variants of their popular models.

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One such model is Chevrolet's top-selling small car, Beat.

Launched at an introductory price of Rs 429,000 (ex-showroom Delhi), Beat diesel comes packed with an all new 936cc, 3-cylinder diesel engine that churns out 58.5 Ps of power and offers an excellent mileage of 24 kmpl.

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Mahindra XUV 500

Mahindra's ace SUV, Scorpio ruled the SUV segment for quite a long time in India.

But with the stupendous success of its new SUV, XUV 500, Mahindra is riding high on success these days.

The rugged SUV is has won many hearts and has left car aficionados shell-shocked with what it offers.

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Launched at an introductory price of Rs 10,80,000 (ex-showroom Delhi), the SUV clocked around 8,000 bookings within two weeks of the launch.

Gradually the company had to stop accepting bookings for the SUV.

However, Mahindra will reopen bookings for XUV 500 in January, by pricing it higher by Rs 55,000.

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Honda Brio

Honda's cars are known for its upmarket looks, jaw-dropping beauty and high pricing.

However, it seems the company had to shift gears to survive in the domestic market.

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Honda made its foray in the mini hatchback segment by launching the cheapest car under its stable, Brio.

Brio comes with a price tag of Rs 395,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) and has received an overwhelming response ever since its launch.

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New Honda Jazz

Priced at Rs 7 lakh (Rs 700,000), Honda Jazz failed to create magic in the hatchback segment due to its high pricing.

Therefore, the company eventually overhauled the hatchback and cut its price by a whopping Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 150,000) to bring the small car price down to Rs 5.5 lakh (Rs 550,000).

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The trick worked and Honda Jazz surprisingly emerged as a winner in the premium hatchback segment.

However, due the untoward floods in Thailand, Honda had to stop manufacturing few of the models produced at the Thailand facility.

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Tata Nano 2012

Tata's wonder car, Nano, grabbed eyeballs when it was launched in 2009, though the sales started attenuating as time passed by.

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Tata doled out various offers to revive the dipping sales of the mini hatch, but could not attain success.

Tata surprised the auto industry by rolling out the 2012 Tata Nano in the month of November which has been able to gradually improve the sales of the small car.