Some manufacturers like to play it safe. So safe that they sometimes ignore the possibility of enjoying some more units being sold. Today, I will talk about some manufacturers who gave away that opportunity when the market was/is hot. And why they shouldn't repeat their mistakes again.
1. Audi: Back in late-2007, the first Audi R8 arrived in India. By the middle of 2008, three more were brought out of their containers and delivered to their buyers. The point being, none of these cars were supplied by Audi India, instead were brought in as private imports. It wouldn't be until the end of 2008 that Audi India would finally wake up and the R8 would go officially go on sale. It has nearly happened once again with the R8 V10. As the company dilly-dallys over it, some cars have already been delivered, once again through the private import routes. Some potential ones have probably gone ahead and booked the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG instead. Audi India would like to believe it still has enough market to sell its R8 V10 to when it does eventually get it here. It's still opportunity lost.
2. Nissan: They have the rip-roaring 370Z on offer here, arguably one of the most under-rated sports coupes on the market. Unfortunately though, Nissan and GT-R together are a bigger brand in India than Nissan and 370Z. And the GT-R is still not on sale in India despite being sold in international markets now for nearly three years. About a dozen-odd GT-Rs (R35s) prowl the Indian roads in cities like New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai and Nissan India has yet to sell one (apart from the one it gifted/bartered to Narain Karthikeyan). A Nissan GT-R, landed with all payments made costs about Rs 85-90 lakh, a far cry from the Porsche 911 Turbo that is bordering on the absurd Rs 2 crore mark. It has enough fan following to say the least and more than willing buyers out there. Nissan India says that it isn't viable to sell the GT-R unless it can get about 100 orders a year – doesn't make sense considering how other luxury cars makers can get away with selling even a dozen or two dozen supercars a year. If nothing else, the GT-R will probably help Nissan sell more of its cars purely for its pull factor.
3. Hyundai: With lots of hoopla, hype and whatnot, Hyundai launched the Santa Fe in India after a long delay. Everyone was salivating at finally having a credible option to the Toyota Fortuner (what with its long waiting list) and then, Hyundai dropped the bomb on everybody. They said they would only be importing 600 cars for the year, and within a week, 585 of them had a booking number on them. Hyundai was completely flummoxed and is now considering opening booking again sometime next year. When? One doesn't exactly know, but what if they didn't have such a cap, then Hyundai would probably have sold many more. Hyundai India says that their focus isn't luxury cars, and this is only to let the world know that they can make some pretty good ones. Agreed, Hyundai have burnt their fingers with the Tucson, Terracan and Sonata in the past (and present), but for once Hyundai never saw it coming. In a market being barraged by other Rs 20-30 lakh SUV options every other day, this is an opportunity missed.
Some of the manufacturers however have developed a habit of launching cars at the right time. Mercedes-Benz' move on the SLS AMG was well timed, so much so that over one and half dozen of them have reportedly been booked, some already being delivered. BMW was smart enough to offer the Z4 and 5 Series GT in time, and pretty much all those sales have gone to BMW and not some private importer. Toyota may have lost some months, but it eventually brought down the LC200 and never really lost the bus.
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