Ford EcoSport picks up volumes; Duster drops

For several auto manufacturers, the last FY year has been a struggling course while some have managed to keep afloat. The conflicting compact SUV segment races with each other in terms of sales every time. The Ford EcoSport grew nearly 2.8 % while the Duster sales decreased. The Mahindra Scorpio, which was the top gainer in the month of March is now neck to neck with the Ford EcoSport. The Nissan Terrano, Duster's alter ego saw a decline in sales after a booming March.

The American giant sold 4013 units of EcoSport in the month of April- 2014, while they sold 3904 units of the same in March. The increase in sales is fueled by the increased production of EcoSport at their facility in Chennai to meet the soaring demands in domestic as well as export markets. The waiting period of the Blue-Oval's baby SUV has been reduced lately, the vehicle is available within 3-5 months thanks to the increased production. In order to lure new buyers, the company is providing signature Day-Time-Running-LED incorporated headlamp cluster which features a continuous strip-LED, all at dealer's hands as a certified accessory (EcoSport with DRLs are already on sale in other markets). We confirmed with the dealers about the pricing of the signature headlamps, it costs approximately INR 14,000. These trendy DRLs can be also fitted to all the existing EcoSport models while it can also be replaced in the brand new ones.

The Mahindra Scorpio sold 1513 units less in April compared to the month of March, the company sold 4092 units of Scorpio compared to 5605 unit last to last month. The EcoSport is just 79 units behind the top seller in this segment. The reasons behind the declining sales is that the Scorpio is aging from quite a while now, however, the update is expected sometime later this year. The company is also currently selling a limited edition Scorpio with leather seats, chromed alloys, DVD infotainment system and dual-airbags.

Renault Duster also witnesses a drop in sales, the French auto major sold 4494 units of Duster in the month of March 2014 while the company rolled out 3153 units last month. The Duster will receive a facelift at the end of this year while the manufacturer recently added Adventure edition to the Duster line-up to keep things fresh. Renault will also drive in 4-wheel-drive Duster later this year. The Terrano, on the other hand fights with the Duster and Ecosport at one hand and with the heavily loaded XUV 500 on the other hand. The company sold 3075 units of Terrano in March -2014 while in April the sales stats stand at 1575 units a drop of 1500 units. Cheers to Ford!

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